


Final Spark

by Zoco



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama & Romance, F/M, Gen, M/M, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2014-01-22
Packaged: 2018-01-09 15:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 68,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoco/pseuds/Zoco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garen, the Might of Demacia, has never been appointed of a task so difficult. Him and his innocent sister Lux are sent out on a mission to defeat an evil long forgotten that has now come back from the past to fight for his revolution once again. How will they be able to stop this and how will their bonds with their new friends be affected?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: An Unforgotten Day

_10 years ago_

 

What seemed to be only a mere rainy night in the land of Demacia was not as it was heard of. The sound of the rain hitting ground and the sound of rain hitting trees. The sound of wind tearing trees and wind gusting. The sound of wind and rain both hitting flesh. Flesh that did not only show itself but did shed blood. On this rainy night there was a fight between two very formidable foes. Rivals, they were. Rivals of two opposing city countries, Demacia and Noxus, whom who they’ve been at war with each other for quite some time. Within mist there they were, fighting amongst themselves. One wielded a large sword, the other holstered a wide assortment of knives and daggers. They both battled for their country. They both battled for honor. Fresh blood drew in the air  as they battled each other, while in the end only one could survive this epic duel. The battle seemed to be never ending, each of them fatigued in the heart of the cold air. However the battle was drawing to a close. With scars reigning across her face and dagger countless scratches in his armor, the burly warrior seemed to be breaking down. He could not handle anymore of this battle. Wounded now the girl had found an opportunity to strike. With one quick slash she found now blood of the other mans face lying upon her face. Her foe was on the ground, kneeling in a defeated state. The girl stood above him, waiting to see if the warrior was going to move anymore, but he didn’t. As she soon realized this she moved to make a final strike.

 

“Brother!” a voice called out from the trees that surrounded them.

 

“Sister!” the burly warrior on the ground called out.

 

Suddenly emerging from the trees was a young girl. She seemed to be only in her teenage years, wearing a beautiful white dress that was getting seemingly torn in the heavy winds. Her blonde hair waving in the winds, and her slim figure made her stand out from anyone else. As soon as she emerged she noticed the burly warrior on the ground kneeling before the woman who was holding a dagger only inches away from his face.

 

“Brother!” This time she was screaming in agony. “Fight back, fight back!”

 

“I cannot do such a thing, I…” he hesitated. “I have met my match”.

He now turned back to the women that would soon kill him.

“Finish me.” he said.

 

“NO! Stand up and fight!” The sister ran towards him, crying for dear life, streams of tears flowing down her cheeks. She tried to help the brother back up, this time literally dragging him upwards, but the brother would not comply with her actions. This time the sister faced the women that was about to kill him.

“Please, I…I beg of you” she pleaded.

Something about this shot the women in the heart. For a Noxan, this type of emotion does not happen often, and Noxan assassins are trained not to feel emotion. This however took the assassin by surprise. She did not expect a sister to come out and plead for her brothers life. She has never been caught in this type of situation, nor did she expect this situation to come through fighting her rival.

 

She dropped her dagger.

 

“No, do it! if I am to die I want it to be an honorable death! Even if it means falling to the hands of you” said the warrior.

 

“I don’t know what I see anymore warrior” replied the women “The only thing that I do see is people who care for you.” she said looking over towards the sister. “I am only sparing your life just this once… next time however, you better not screw up.”

 

She began to walk away. Once she was far enough away, she kneeled to the ground.

 

“Until we meet again, Garen” and with that she disappeared in a small cloud of smoke.

 

The field was met with silence. The rain began to stop and the clouds began to disperse giving way to sunlight. The winds began to slowly calm down, and animals and birds came out of their hiding places to enjoy the newly exposed sunlight.

 

Garen broke the silence “Until we meet again… Katarina.”

  
And with that he woke up.

* * *

**Don't worry, it gets better as the story goes along :P. This story is also on FF if you want to read it there.**

 

 


	2. Chapter 1: Dark Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introduction Chapter. Conflict and main characters introduced.

_Present_

 

He woke. Not only did he just realize that he was dreaming but he remembered that he was dreaming about his past. That is something that Garen did not feel comfortable with, especially dreaming about the aspects of that night.

 

“Why?” He thought to himself for a while. “Why did she let me live that night?”

 

Though he did not come to a conclusion for these questions, he knew that he was certainly glad that he was still living.

 

Garen, the Might of Demacia, as people on the streets may call him. Although he knew that he was respected amongst almost everyone in Demacia he does not consider himself the true strength of Demacia. He knew that the true strength of Demacia was its people, and the people is what give him his strength and will to continue forward. This is the reason why Garen didn’t ponder his questions any longer than he did.

 

He raised himself off of his bed and looked around his room. Garen’s room is very simple, it had all of the necessary equipment along with his personal items. These included his signature armor and sword that he wears to the Field of Justice anytime a summoner chooses to summon him in aid for a battle. While wise it was for him to wear this armor every time he went out, he decides to wear normal civilian clothes for the road, and equip his armor once he was at the kings palace. Once Garen entered the streets of Demacia, he was greeted with a roar of hellos from the citizens that passed. Garen always responded to them, whether it be him saying hello back or giving them just a friendly smile. The streets of Demacia are full of various wonders, whether it be House Vayne or Sona’s Palace of Music. All of which are very popular attractions amongst Demacians. However most of Garen’s time is spent as a soldier in the Demacian military.

 

The Demacian military is easily one of the strongest military branches in all of Valoran. The other strongest however happened to be their rival country, Noxus, who use much more brutal tactics of dispatching their foes than other countries do. Demacia has a more civilized approach on ruling over a city. Even still, Demacia is the most successful city state in all of Valoran; they have relationships with almost every city in Valoran: Piltover, Bandle City, you name it.

 

Garen slowly walked over to the training ground that his unit practiced on. Garen is the leader of the mighty Dauntless Vanguards, one of the most prestigious units in the Demacian military. They never faltered, they never gave up, they would never run from a fight nor would they surrender, and with this perseverance  gave them their title. On the training grounds he found his men in their normal routine. Garen’s men were always training, day in day out.

 

“9, 10, 11, 12… Good. Everyones here.” Garen said as he counted his men.

“13… wait, 13?” Garen had spotted someone else on the training grounds that is not in his squad, but he had only known her too well.

 

“Lux, what are you doing here?” Garen yelled out.

 

Lux turned around in surprise, as she didn’t notice Garen walk in. Lux is Garen’s sister, and she is the only thing in the world Garen cares more about then Demacia. She wore a beautiful white dress that one could not miss, however sometimes it seemed that she can hide in plain sight when the lights are off, even with her shining dress. Lux always carried around her signature white baton that made people recognize her as symbolic to Demacia. Not only this though, she has been using it much more for dance lately. Garen always liked watching her sister dance. She has always said that she wanted to dance since she was a little girl. Since then Garen has watched her grow over the years to be a bigger and better dancer.

 

“Oh hi Big Bro” Lux said walking up to him. “Are these your men? I never knew that you came here to train.”

 

“Yes, we have been training here for a while actually…” Garen said with a slight pause at the end. Did she know that these are the training grounds?

 

“Oh, well I didn’t know that. I was talking to my dance teacher and she said if I needed to practice I could come here.”

 

Odd, Garen thought. Didn’t the dance teacher know that this is restricted military grounds. My men would’ve stopped her from entering if they didn’t know that Lux was my sister.

 

“You’ve been practicing dance a lot more lately, is there some sort of special occasion that is coming up? Garen asked.

 

“Well there might.” Lux looked away, slightly blushing.

 

Garen noticed this. “Oh, I see. So…” he hesitated “...whos the special one?”

 

Lux turned around this time not with a blush but with an annoyed look and a hand that promptly smacked Garen’s face.

 

“I didn’t mean it like THAT!” she yelled out. Some of Garen’s men were looking over and laughing at him.

 

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. I only say these things for your protection you know?”

 

“Fine, fine, I’m sorry for hitting you.” she apologized, still having an annoyed look on her face.

  


The two sat there for a while in a slight silence, observing Garen’s men during their fifth hour of training.

 

“So do you want to know why I’ve been training a lot lately?” she asked.

 

“Yes”

 

Lux leaned over towards Garen, about to whisper in his ear. “I’m dancing for one of Jarvan’s parties.”

 

These words shocked Garen. Garen knew Jarvan very well, almost like brothers.  Him and Jarvan had been on many missions together before Jarvan was crowned as the prince of Demacia. After that Jarvan had spent much of his time in meetings and debates about politics and the betterment of Demacia. Jarvan was definitely worthy of his title.

 

Garen stared at Lux for a moment, mainly out of shock. Soon he cracked a smile.

 

“Lux” he said “I’m proud of you. You do know it is a huge honor to even attend one of Jarvan’s parties, let alone dance at it.”

 

“Aww.” she began to blush. “I’m not that good am I?”

 

“Of course you are, I think you are.” Garen hugged her sister, blushing even harder. They sat there in silence for a while, continueing to watch the men training.

 

“Well, you probably get it from me.” Garen said quietly with a smirk.

 

“Shutup”

 

“Garen!”

 

A voice from the entrance of the training grounds called. To their surprise it was Jarvan.

 

“Jarvan!” Garen called. “What are you doing here?”

 

Just then 2 of Jarvan’s guards came over and took position behind him. Jarvan beckoned for Garen to come closer. Garen had a slightly frightened look on his face, as well as Lux. Although he did not hesitate to step forward.

 

Once Garen was within talking distance, Jarvan walked up and whispered in his ear.

 

“Come with me, I need to speak to you in private. This is very important.”

 

And with that Jarvan turned and quickly started walking. The guards made sure that no one could approach them as they walked through the streets of Demacia. Now Garen was wondering what this was all about. Jarvan had never done this before, securely escort him to a new area. Surely he knew that he could take care of himself. “This must be very important if he is using such effort to bring me there quickly.” Garen thought to himself. Garen glanced over at Jarvan while they were walking. “Firm” he thought. “Serious, Strict…. Scared”. All of these Garen noted in Jarvan’s expression. “What could he be scared about? A possible Noxian invasion?” he thought. Jarvan led him and the guards to a narrow alleyway located in between two apartment complexes. Once they were at the end of the alleyway, Jarvan turned around and peered over the guards shoulders, checking if anyone was following. There weren’t. Jarvan slowly slid his hand against the wall. As slowly as he did, he pulled a secret brick lever that was attached to the apartment complex. There was a large *clunk* sound, and the ground beneath them shifted, revealing a small crease in the ground. Jarvan moved over towards the crack and kicked it once. The ground beneath collapsed, revealing a small ladder. Jarvan turned back, signaling to his guards not to come, while him and Garen made their way down the ladder. At the bottom, it seemed that they were standing in an abandoned sewer system. One way had light emitting around the corner.

 

“What is this all about?” asked Garen finally.

 

“You will see my friend” was Jarvan’s only reply.

 

They made their way down the sewer, heading towards the direction with light. Once at the end revealed a door. Jarvan stood in front of the door for a second hesitating before he opened the door and walked inside.

 

The door opened and inside shown a light that lit up the entire sewer system. The only thing within the room however were bookcases covering every wall from top to bottom. “Where is the light coming from?” wondered Garen. Just as Garen thought that Jarvan moved over to one of the bookcases and pulled a book out and laid it on a small table next to him. He looked back seeing a small lever. Jarvan pulled it.

 

The wooden floor opened up in the middle of the room causing Garen to stumble back a bit. Through use of mechanics, a small podium raised up from the ground. On it was an object unidentifiable by Garen but to Jarvan meant something important.

 

Jarvan broke the silence. “We take extreme precautions that this item doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

 

“What is it?” asked Garen, staring at the object.

 

“You don’t know what this is?” Jarvan said in slight shock. “It is only the most dangerous item that holds the power to destroy all of Valoran if it fell into the creators hands again.”

Garen looked at Jarvan with still a confused look on his face. Jarvan chuckled at this.

 

“I haven’t taught you anything have I?” Jarvan asked.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

Jarvan walked over to the table that he had set a book on before. He picked it up and tossed it over at Garen. Garen looked down at the book. The image on the cover has the same item as what is on the podium. Garen read the title out loud.

 

“The Hex Core” Garen said slowly.

 

“Mhm” replied Jarvan.

 

Garen set the book aside.

 

“Now considering you know me I take it you know I’m not going to read that entire thing. So tell me, what is the Hex Core?”

 

Jarvan stared at him for a second before replying.

 

“Like I said it is only the most dangerous item in Valoran if it gets in to the wrong hands. But let me tell you the history of it.”

 

He paused before continuing.

 

“The Hex Core has been around long before any of us were. My father was probably only a little boy when this thing was created. The ‘Machine Herald’ created this. Have you heard of him before?”

 

“Only in stories before.” Garen has heard of the Machine Herald before, although does not know much about him.

 

“His real name is Viktor. He was once a very smart man, a master of techmaturgy. He wanted to use his science to make a change in Valoran. Instead his dreams never bestowed upon other people. Viktor concealed himself away from human society and concocted a plan where he melded his own body into machines that he has created. When he awoke he was not himself anymore. He wanted to create a revolution where he turned all of Valoran in to techmaturgical machines and hextech augmentations.”

 

Garen now hearing the story of Viktor could only imagine what he’s like.

  


“And that is when my Demacia became involved. Luckily for us we heard of Viktor before anybody else knew. Not even Noxus knows about the Hex Core. That’s why I said before, we take our precautions.”

 

“So” Garen said. “Where is Viktor now?”

 

“He was dead…” he trailed off.

 

It took Garen a minute to realize this. “Wait, was? What do you mean by that?”

 

“Well, some of our scientists studied the Hex Core when we managed to defeat Viktor. They observed that before there was NO light emitting from it. When we were fighting Viktor, the light was on.”

 

“So the light represents that its creator is alive.”

 

“Yes, and right now its master is looking for this. Whether he has a way of tracking the Hex Core or not, we don’t know.”

 

“So then how do we know that Viktor is its master still?”

 

“How do we not?”

 

Garen stood staring at Jarvan for a while. He summarized what he had just heard in his head: a technological madman has come back to life and is now looking for his prized possession. Garen normally doesn’t frighten easily, but Viktor sounds like a formidable foe.

 

“So why did you call me down here exactly?” trying to not sound concerned.

 

Jarvan smiled lightly and looked at him. “Simple, I want you to stop him.”

 


	3. Chapter 2: Potential

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot and characterization. Important information revealed.

The light dimmed as Garen closed the door behind him. The sewer that he had travelled down to get to where he was now was considerably darker on the way back, dark enough that the light from the Hex Core did not matter now how much Garen could see in front of him. Leaks and creaks were all he heard before he finally found his way back to the ladder.

 

Once he surfaced to his surprise it was raining. The alleyway was drenched, a pool of water came up about an inch from the ground. The guards that escorted Jarvan and Garen there were still positioned right outside.

 

“Where’s Jarvan sir?” one guard asked.

 

“He decided to stay down a little longer… he needed to study something.” Garen replied.

 

Garen walked the path down the alleyway before getting interrupted.

 

“Sir, are you ok? You look exhausted.”

 

Garen took a slight pause before he turned and looked at the guard who asked.

 

“I’m fine” was all Garen could muster up to say before eventually leaving the alleyway.

 

In reality however, Garen was not fine. At most he was extremely uncomfortable in the situation that Jarvan had just put him in. An unseen pressure was weighted against Garen’s back as he thought about the situation. The Hex Core. “A device with such power that it could revolutionize the world as we know it.” Garen repeated what Jarvan had told him, questioning what Jarvan hadn’t told him. “Where does its power come from? How do we destroy it? How do we know that Viktor isn’t coming after it right now?” These questions stormed in Garen’s head as he walked down the streets of Demacia, water pouring on to him and the road in front of him. There was no one on the streets. There was never anyone on the streets when it was raining, which made anyone on the streets while it was raining look weird. Most of the houses on the street were lit up. If Garen were to look inside one he would find a nice family just about to sit down and have supper together.

 

Garen strode up to his house after a slow walk to get there. To his surprise, his lights were on. “Odd” Garen thought “Who could be inside.” Garen approached the door. Once he approached he heard a light music. Sona’s music. Her music was beautiful. Chord after chord her music can lighten someone up even on the darkest days. One could listen to it hours on end and not get tired to it. It’s like there is a magic to her music that makes her one of the most popular musicians all across Valoran. Garen opened the door to his house, the music became distinctly louder. Garen turned the corner in the hallway only to find Lux. Dancing, much to his surprise.

 

“This must be what she is going to dance at Jarvan’s party.” Garen thought.

 

Garen stood and watched silently as Lux danced, not noticing that Garen had arrived. The way that Lux danced fit Sona’s music perfectly. Step after step, she was synchronized with Sona’s music. One step firmly on the ground into a spin afterwards. Twirling her baton around her has she kept up with the music. The music picked up, and so did Lux. The way that Lux flowed with the sound of the music was incredible.

 

The song was coming to a close as Lux twirled her baton around faster continually dancing to the music. Finally she pulled a stunt. She threw her baton up in to the air, the tip of it just barely touching the ceiling. Once the baton was at its highest peak, she spun and jumped at the same time causing her to spin mid-air as she caught the baton mid air as well. She landed gracefully and softly on the floor, spinning another full circle before her eyes met Garen’s.

 

A quick blush fell upon her cheeks. She ran over towards the nearest couch, quickly grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it. Garen came over and took a seat in a chair next to it.

 

“You know you could’ve at least knocked!” Lux said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

 

“I would’ve, but I was afraid that you would’ve stopped if I did.” Garen said.

 

Lux raised her head and looked at Garen, still blushing. “Well you’re right.”

 

Garen chuckled under his breath. “Why do you keep trying to hide everything?”

 

“It’s not that. It’s just… I’m not good when people are staring at me.” Lux said

 

“Well then how are you going to handle tomorrow?”

 

“I don’t know.” she buried her face back into the pillow. “I wish I had more time for this.”

 

Garen sighed. He came over and took a seat next to Lux on the couch. “Lux, I think your dancing is beautiful.”

 

She stayed silent.

 

“You have so much hidden potential in you, you just don’t realize it yet. Its like…” Garen tried describing it with his hands “...there’s this big ball of light in you ready to blow up, you know! And once it does your strength will show and light up even the darkest of places! You just need to unlock it, and to unlock it you must believe in yourself that you can do it. It comes from the heart.” Garen motioned his hand over his own heart.

 

Lux stayed silent the entire time before looking up at Garen, a dried up tear stream below her eye. “You really think so?”

 

“Yup. And when the time comes I will be so proud of you. You are my little sister you know.” he began laughing. But just then Lux jumped out at him, giving him a big hug.

 

“Thank you, Garen”

* * *

_Day 2_

  
  


“LIGHT”

 

It was mainly out of impulse. The words just slipped out of Garen’s mouth when he awoke, having no control over him saying it and no idea why he said it. The word was just there. In the air and in his head as well. Garen sat up, wondering what had just happened before he set it aside.

 

Garen heard a knock on his door. “Garen, are you O.K?” The voice of Lux was alive and awake outside his door.

 

“Yeah, everything is fine.” he yelled back.

 

Lux opened the door and walked into his room. She looked at him worried. “I must have said that really loudly.” Garen thought.

 

“You sure now? That sounded scary.”

 

“Yes I’m fine, I think.”

 

“Ok!” Her voice immediately became more cheerful. “Hey come outside real quick, I want to show you something.”

 

She quickly ran out of his room, grabbing a towel along the way. Garen got up slowly, still recuperating from his outburst. He threw on a fresh shirt and pants, ignoring his armor for now, and headed outside after Lux.

 

The rain from last night had subsided but not long ago. A thin stream of water still ran across the streets of Demacia. The sky was still a cloudy gray with small patches of sky in between them, signaling that the rain hasn’t completely stopped yet. A cold breeze caught Garen off guard as it gave him the chills.

 

“See, that is why I brought a towel, to keep me warm and comfy.” said Lux with a cheeky smile.

 

“Why didn’t you just bring a jacket instead of taking my towel?” asked Garen, rubbing his eyes to adjust to the brightness.

 

“I’m lazy.” Lux sat down on the steps that led down to the sidewalk below and patted a seat for Garen to sit in. Garen sat where she told him to, looking out to the passing civilians walking down the street.

 

After a moment of silence, Lux pointed up towards the sky. “Look there!”

 

Garen glanced over to see what she was pointing at. A thin break in the clouds revealed multiple colors in an arch, red on the top and purple at the bottom.

 

“A rainbow.” Garen said

 

“Yup, you don’t get to see too many of them these days.” Lux said, staring at it. “You know rainbows are actually very complicated things. Knowing about the creation of one requires knowledge on all sorts of science stuff, like refraction, optics, those kind of things. When I look at it though I don’t think about those kind of things. I think about how beautiful it looks, and what it brings to the day. It brings about a new kind of light to brighten up an already bright day.”

 

Garen glanced over at Lux. She was smiling the entire time looking up at the rainbow.

 

“What’s with you and light? Why do you like light so much?” Garen asked.

 

Lux laughed lightly at this. “It’s obvious, I don’t like the dark.”

 

“Ahh.” Garen glanced over at the rainbow only to notice that it had been covered back up by clouds again.

 

“We should go before it starts raining again.” Lux said

 

“Where?”

 

“The Prince’s Palace. I want to get there early before it gets too crowded.”

 

“It’s so early though!”

 

“I don’t care. Be social for once and talk to people.” Lux said teasingly.

 

* * *

 

 

The Prince’s Palace was a big place. A long carpet stretched across the wooden tile of the floor. On each side were large pillars that extended up to the roof. When entered, on the left was the eating area. Large long tables extended most of the length of the room. On the right hand size was a large open area meant for socializing and dancing.

 

 

After hours of waiting people finally started to arrive. Only members of the prestigious royal houses are allowed to attend this party. Garen could recognize many familiar faces, including Vayne, Fiora, and Sona who was invited to play live music. Within mere minutes of people starting to arrive it felt as if most of the palace was filled already.

 

“Wow, I never knew this many people came.” Lux said, standing next to Garen as he was leaning up against a wall watching people come in.

 

“Oh yeah, you’ve never been to one of these have you?” asked Garen.

 

“Nope.”

 

“Well, lets just say you’re going to have a big audience today.”

 

“Oh joy.” Lux said sarcastically.

 

The room suddenly fell silent. Lux and Garen looked over to see what was happening. With a crowd staring over towards the corner of the room, Jarvan had just arrived. He wasn’t wearing his famous battle armor, but a suit more appealing for the event. He took a seat on his throne located against the center back wall.

 

“Welcome to Demacia’s 4th annual party!” Jarvan announced.

 

The crowd roared a loud cheer.

 

“Today, we celebrate our heritage, our culture, and our city, Demacia. Now, everyone enjoy themselves tonight. Just remember, Demacia: now and forever!”

 

Another loud roar spread throughout the crowd.

 

“We got plenty of food and drinks for all, as well as a live music by the one and only Sona: Maven of the Strings. If you would like to dance along to the wonderful music, you can always step on the floor to talk, dance, and socialize, but first you must watch Lux and her wonderful dancing.”

 

“Well, here goes nothing.” Lux said, as she walked over to the open space in the room.

 

Lux stood in the middle of the room as most of the audience circled around her. Lux took a quick look around her to observe the amount of people watching. She tried her best to put on a smile for the crowd but couldn’t help but look nervous. Sona had positioned herself to where the music would flow the most throughout the room.

  
  
  


With a prick of a string, a beautiful melody fell upon the crowd. A single note was enough to mesmerize the audience. Lux took a deep breath before she took her first step. Her foot landed, then pivoted, moving her entire body along with it before she took another leap keeping her baton spinning on her side and around her back the entire time. She landed, moving her baton over her head, spinning and stepping to the rhythm of Sona’s music. The music was picking up pace, as well as Lux’s dance. It had been the same music and same dance as when Garen walked in on Lux the night before.

 

As Lux continued her performance Garen glanced over at Jarvan, who was also observing her. However, Garen noted that his face wasn’t of enjoyment but more serious. His eyes were moving to every detail of her movement as if studying her. His eyes however were most fixated on her baton. Jarvan seemed to take note of the way she was spinning it; form and detail of the baton were observed. He seemed to be stuck in a complete thought as the performance went on.

 

The music was picking up even more, signaling that the end was near. Lux did very well to keep up her pace to the music. As the music came to a close, Lux did what she had did the night before. She threw her baton up into the air, this time much higher than last time, and jumped up along with it. She twirled in the air for countless times, her grace left the audience starstruck. She grabbed her baton mid air when she landed, giving another spin as this time her eyes me with Jarvan’s.

 

A sparkle shined in her eyes.

 

The crowd roared with applause, all very impressed with Lux’s performance. Lux blushed at this, like many other times, and slowly made her way out of the circle.

 

“You did awesome Lux!” voices from the crowd yelled.

 

Garen smiled at her as Lux approached. The crowd had gone back to talking and eating amongst themselves.

 

“See, I told you they would love you.” Garen said.

 

“You know doing that was harder than you think.” said Lux with a slight laugh. “You can just feel all of them staring you down, like a million small weights on your shoulders.”

 

“I know, but you did great.”

 

“Well, thanks”

 

“Impressive performance today Lux.”

 

Garen and Lux looked over to see the figure of Jarvan standing right in front of them, this time with a big smile on his face.

 

“Thanks!” Lux said, elated that the prince of Demacia said that.

 

He now looked over towards Garen. “Garen, may I speak with you in private for a minute.”

 

Jarvan began walking away towards the edge of the room, expecting Garen to follow. Garen trailed behind him, noticing that Jarvan’s face had turned from happy to serious in a matter of seconds.

 

They both met near a wall in the corner of the room where no one else would hear.

 

“I’m impressed with your sister Garen.” started Jarvan.

 

“Me too.” said Garen

 

“She shows skill Garen, a skill that you might not recognize.”

 

Garen was confused. “What do you mean?”

 

“Hmph, if you look at her when she was performing you could see the beginning of what could be the savior.”

 

Garen was even more confused. “I’m sorry sir, I don’t understand.”

 

Jarvan stood quietly for a moment before he started again. “I want you her to go with you Garen, on your mission.”

 

“Why, may I ask?”

 

“Well from what I saw today, your sister has a lot of hidden potential, just kind of waiting to be shown. But when for it to be shown, who knows.”

 

“Don’t you think that this will be too dangerous for her? I haven’t told her about it yet.”

 

“You haven’t?” Jarvan looked over Garen’s shoulder to see Lux leaning up against the wall. “Lux!”

 

Lux glanced over. Jarvan beckoned for her to come over, so she did.

 

“I have assigned you and Garen a mission.”

 

“You did?” Lux asked “I’m not part of the military though.”

“I know you aren’t, but me and Garen both think that this will be a learning experience for you.”

 

Lux glanced over at Garen, who the entire time was biting his lower lip.

 

“So what is this mission about?” Lux asked, this time sounding a bit more concerned.

 

“Garen will tell you the details of the mission when you guys head out.”

 

“Where are we starting?” asked Garen this time.

 

“You will be starting in Bandle City, home of the yordles. I hear that they have some intel on the matter that can help you guys out, and trust me, you will need help on this mission.” Jarvan said with a slight smile. Lux and Garen immediately looked a bit more uncomfortable.

 

“Oh yes Lux, can you go get Quinn for me, I need to speak to her about arrangements for your transportation over there.” asked Jarvan.

 

“Sure.” Lux said, this time giving a negative tone before she walked away.

 

Jarvan immediately turned back to Garen once Lux was gone. “Now, from the last time we have talked I gathered more intel on the Hex Core. It is said that along with the Hex Core there are three augments that go along with it that amplify its power, one is blue, one is yellow, and one is red. Your mission is to find them and destroy them. I am sending you off to Bandle City because that is where the last known location for one of these was.”

 

“So when are we going?” asked Garen.

 

“As soon as Lux gets back with Quinn.”

 

“This early? Lux had just found out about the mission.” Garen thought to himself.

 

“When you arrive, you will meet with Bandle City’s ambassador to Demacia, she will know what to do with you two.”

 

“You requested my appearance sir?” a voice said behind them.

 

Quinn and Lux both walked up on to them.

 

“Yes, I need you to arrange transportation to Bandle City for Lux and Garen immediately.”

 

“Already done sir, me and Valor can take them there fast.”

 

Jarvan glanced at Lux, then back at Garen. “Good.”

  
  



	4. Chapter 3: Welcome to Bandle City!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New area introduced. New side character introduced.

_Day 3_

 

A small sun shone through the morning sky. From this point in Valoran, the sun looked much smaller in the sky than in Demacia. So did the sky. The bright blue sky shown for the first time since they had left Demacia. A small breeze blew in the air, rustling the leaves of the trees that had surrounded Lux and Garen. A leaf blew off in the wind, riding the breeze until it very cautiously landed on the dirt trail right in front of Lux. Lux cautiously walked around it.

 

Before them stood a wood wall, acting as a barrier between the outside world and Bandle City. Two sets of double doors were in front of them, one a humans height and one only about a meter tall. The two stood in front of the doors for a moment.

 

“We’re here” said Garen letting out a sigh of relief.

 

“I’m excited aren’t you?” Lux said with lively eyes.

 

“You can say that” Garen said as he pushed open the doors to Bandle City.

 

A flurry of just about everything connected with them. Sound and light that were being kept out of from the wall were now becoming present. The street in front of them was busy with yordles walking up and down the street. Small yordle children ran across the street, other yordles were on the sides by numerous buildings having conversations of their own.

 

Neither Garen nor Lux had ever seen a yordle before. Yordles were always an interesting species. They could speak human language but aren’t like humans at all. Yordles were a lot shorter than humans, normally they are all less than a meter tall. They also have a wide range of skin tone colors. Some yordles either had completely smooth skin or were completely covered in fur, some in between those two. With a dramatic size difference Garen and Lux found it awkward to look down at a yordle whenever one went past them. The houses on each side of them were small compared to the ones in Demacia. It made them wonder if Bandle City had a place meant just for humans to walk in to.

 

“Wow, look at this place.” Lux said in astonishment, looking around her observing all of the yordles. “Look at all of the yordles!”

 

“Yeah…” Garen said, trying to take in what is around him as well.

 

The two stood in front of the gate for a moment, still taking in their surroundings. Neither of them had ever seen a place like this before.

 

“So,” Lux said finally breaking the silence “Have you ever been here before?”

  
  


“No actually” Garen admitted. This is one of the few places in Valoran that he had never been to before.

 

“So how do we know where to go?” Lux asked.

 

“We don’t”

 

“I believe I can help with that.”

 

A voice came from behind them that made Lux and Garen jump at the suddenness of it. They turned around to see a teal colored yordle looking up at them. She was wearing an almost complete full set of battle armor, all except the helmet. She had white hair in the form of pigtails; her voice was that of authority, but also experience.

 

The yordle walked up to them and held out her hand.

 

“I’m Poppy, Ambassador of Bandle City to Demacia. Jarvan told me that you were coming.”

 

“I’m Garen, nice to meet you.” he said, greeting her with a smile.

 

“Don’t think I don’t know who you are Garen.” Poppy said with a coy smile. “Your stories of bravery and acts of courage inspire many of our soldiers around here, and for that we thank you.”

 

Poppy released Garen’s hand and turned over to Lux, holding out her hand once again.

 

“And you must be Luxanna Crownguard?” asked Poppy.

 

“Yes, I prefer to be called Lux though.” she said shyly, shaking her hand.

 

“My apologies Lux, glad to be one to know the sister of the Might of Demacia.”

 

Poppy let go of Lux’s hand. She took a step back to gain a better view of the two humans who towered over her.

 

“Now I imagine that you two didn’t come here just to sightsee.” Poppy turned around. “Come, walk with me.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


Poppy started and Garen and Lux followed. The path ahead of them was narrow, with yordles roaming up and down it. The buildings on either side of them were tall, normally two story buildings just high enough where you can see the light inside the second floor from close up. Through the windows of the lower floors you can see tables and furniture marking a home, others with various assortments of items marking a shop. The building’s architecture fit with the rural environment that the city was located in. Nice shades of brown covered the buildings, complimenting the spring grass that were neatly tucked away in patches along alleyways and separating the path from time to time. The alleyways fit nicely into how the building were arranged, acting as shortcuts from one set of buildings to the next, however the alleyways were fairly dark. Small lanterns along the walls of the alleyways were not always lit, as such it did not light the way. In the darkness of one alleyway words were written across the wall. There were six words total, however most of the words were faded away. As Garen passed by this alleyway he could only make out the second word.

 

_WILL_

 

“Will, will, will, will, will, will…” Garen repeated the word over in his head. Why did this word stand out to him so much?

 

“Garen” Lux looked over noticing Garen’s concern “Is everything ok?”

 

“Yeah. its just…” Garen trailed off remembering that they were not the only ones walking along the road. “Nevermind.”

 

Lux, still worried about her brother, turned her attention away from him focusing on the beauty of the city and two peculiar yordles that caught her eye. One blue yordle stood next to a large mech, what it was meant to do she did not know. The other blue yordle was female, standing next to a large hand cannon that looked like it could do some serious damage. The two yordles were standing in conversation, but Lux could not help to smile when the female blushed at something the other yordle said right before Lux turned the corner.

 

The walkway in front of them largened, revealing a different part of the city that they were just in. On the left were the same building from where they had just came from, but on the left was the Bandle City docks. Small waves were washing up on the rock walls that separated the walkway from the ocean, and were rocking small fishing boats docked and a short ways off shore. A short distance behind them was the lighthouse, leveraged up on a small hill to provide the most light to the outer boats.

 

The aspect that amazed Lux and Garen was one not expected in Bandle City. The amount of a military navy located towards the middle of the harbor was extraordinary. It was nothing too large in terms of technology but the amount they had. The military docks were separate from the fishing docks, the military ones located in the middle of the shoreline. A small walkway protruded from the middle, leading to buildings only accessible to officers.

Poppy noticed their surprise.

 

“We take extra precaution around the shoreline. Lets just say that Bilgewater doesn’t take kindly to us.” Poppy said.

 

“What would they want here?” Lux asked, still looking at the boats offshore.

 

“Well they are pirates. They want anything they can get.” Poppy gave a small chuckle, followed by one from Lux. Garen was lost in his own thought, still trying to shake off the word in his head.

 

The yordle turned around and met eyes with Lux. She was going to say something to her, but had forgotten. Something about Lux gave Poppy a feeling that she hadn’t felt in a long time but couldn’t quite remember what it was. A small smile traced across Poppy’s face. The feeling reminded her of something from a previous time.

 

“Is something wrong?” Lux asked.

 

Poppy regained her composure, realizing how long she was looking at her, surely making her feel uneasy.

 

“Oh, no I was just going to say…” Poppy paused, trying to remember what she was going to say. “I noticed you looking at two particular yordles earlier, I was just wondering if you took a liking to them?”

 

Lux took a second to think of the yordles she talked about, then realizing there was a specific two that she was paying attention to.

 

“I found them interesting. What both of them had looked like it could blow stuff up.”

 

“Oh, you haven’t seen Ziggs yet.” Poppy smiled as she continued to walk.

 

“Well, I thought that they looked cute together. Like they could be together.” A blush fell upon Lux’s face at saying this, and Poppy responded with a small chuckle. What Lux didn’t know is that she knew those two all too well.

 

“I must tell you that yordles need each other much more than humans do. The yordle society is much different, something that you will soon come to realize. We are all family here, Miss Crownguard.” Poppy’s voice was much more serious when saying this.

 

These words struck a string in Lux’s heart. The feeling to need something more than anything else was of themselves. It was a feeling that Lux had never felt before, however every yordle knows it. And for that Lux knows that yordles are privileged with this honor.

 

The farther and farther they walked the more they realized how vast the yordle community is. People of all different sorts of personalities were among the streets. Some yordles walked up to Lux and Garen and asked them different things, whether it was a school-yordle asking various questions or someone asking for a human perspective on Bandle City. Towards the end of the shoreline they made another curve into a street that looked very similar to the one they were in earlier.

It was a short walk before down before they had hit the center and heart of Bandle City. Through the stairs leading under an archway, they were met with an open area where you can breathe and smell the fresh air around them. They were first presented with a railing that led down to a park with a fountain in the middle. The park took up most of the area that was presented in front of them. On the other side of the park was a large building that stood high by itself, stairs leading up to it. Behind it was a wonderful view of the mountains and trees, both presenting a wonderful and relaxing view.

 

There was not many people here at the moment. Poppy went up and leaned against the railing, her armor meeting with the metal railing.

 

“So since Jarvan told me that you were coming, it must be pretty important.” She now turned to look at both Garen and Lux.

 

“It is.” Garen began. “But I don’t know if he would want me to tell anyone about it.”

 

“Bandle City and Demacia have a stronger relationship than you might realize Garen. Anything that might harm Demacia or other parts of Valoran, we are notified as well. We could call a defensive maneuver if anything dangerous is about to his Bandle City.” Her voice was of business now.

 

Garen took a while to process her words, deciding whether or not to tell her. He decided to trust her.

 

“Have you ever heard of the Hex Core?” Garen said quietly so that anyone else can’t hear.

 

Poppy’s body stiffened at hearing those words. She immediately became concerned.

 

“Yes, what about it?” her voice was stern.

 

Garen leaned on the rail next to Poppy and glanced around to make sure no one was watching.

 

“It has reactivated, meaning that its creator is still alive.”

 

Garen glanced at Poppy, who was still trying to comprehend the information that was being  given.

“You know who the creator is right?” Garen asked.

 

“Yes. He was known as Viktor, the Machine Herald. He himself could had the power and knowledge to take over all of Valoran with one of his creations, that’s why he was put down long ago.” Poppy now looked up at Garen. “But how has the Hex Core reactivated?”

 

“That’s our mission.” Garen stood up straight and stretched himself out. “If Viktor is truly alive somehow than we have to stop the Hex Core’s power as soon as we can before Viktor can get to it. You know about the three augments right?”

 

She gave a simple nod.

 

“The last one was located was near here, that’s why we started here. We are to track down and destroy the augments.”

 

“You do realize the difficulty of this task? The augments could be anywhere if they are located near here. And if you do find one and the creator realizes that you are tracking them down he will come for you.”

 

“That’s why we came to you.” Lux stepped up. “For help.”

 

Poppy glanced between both Garen and Lux. The more she glanced between them, the more her expression changed.

 

“You’re asking a tall order… but” she gave a small smile at her own thoughts.

 

“I think I know some yordles that I know for sure will get the job done.”

 


	5. Chapter 4: Eternal Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New main characters introduced, along with personality development and plot.

_Day 4_

  
  


“Captain Teemo on duty!”

 

“Teemo! Do you really have to say it that loud? They can hear you just fine.”

 

“Fine, sorry Tristana.”

 

One night spent in the inns of Bandle City was all the time it took for Poppy to organize situations for Bandle City’s finest troops. The new morning for Garen and Lux was of all too relaxing, both of them enjoying their first night in a new city. However the fun times were about to be over.

 

The sun shone a bright day upon them when Poppy had called them out to meet a couple of yordles she knew would be an asset to their journey. The air was crisp and a mild breeze flew through the air, brushing over the surface of the ocean as waves washed up against the shoreline. To Lux, the feeling of Bandle City reminded her of times she spent laying on the beach in Demacia. Relaxing, fresh, free.

 

As they walked along the sidewalks, Garen could not help but still think about what had happened the day before. The same word was still stuck in his head. WILL. ‘There must be a meaning to it’ Garen thought as he treaded the hot sidewalks. When they climbed stairs out of the road by the ocean Garen was thankful to have buildings provide shade to him as the heat did not help him get the thought out of his mind any easier.

 

As they rounded another corner, they were met by the steel broad eyes of Poppy off in the distance patiently awaiting their arrival. To Garen and Lux’s notice there were two other yordles standing beside her that didn’t particularly have a place in the crowd. One was coated in light brown fur, the other having soft blue skin. They appeared to be locked in a pretty serious conversation.

 

As Garen and Lux approached, they were able to listen in on a little bit of their conversation.

 

“-  and I’m beginning to worry about him.” the blue one said.

 

“Why?” the furred one asked.

 

“Like, hes been acting more nervous lately, especially around me. I don’t know why.”

 

“And he’s usually a calm guy too. I don’t know what would set him off.”

 

“Yeah, me neither. All he does is tend to his robot thing all day. But now that I think about it, I think he has been hiding something about that robot from me.”

 

“Now that I think about it, I think I know why.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Well… Lets just say that I’m not sure if he would like me telling you.”

 

“Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

 

“Teemo! Tristana! Attention!” Poppy had shouted over to them, interrupting the climax of their conversation. Both yordles immediately turned around, taking few steps to get to where Poppy was. By now both Lux and Garen could see both of their faces. The brown yordle had a cheesy smile on his face, if not for the fur he would certainly be blushing.

 

“Teemo, Tristana, this is Garen and Lux. You will be accompanying them on their mission.” she said in a more relaxed and less commanding voice.

 

“Garen, Lux, this is Teemo and Tristana, two of Bandle City’s most renowned soldiers. Together they will aide you in your journey.”

 

The brown yordle stepped up and stood straight, trying to be his tallest in the presence of humans. He wore nothing as a shirt, only his bright brown fur as it flowed in the wind. Green boots and gloves accompanied his hands and feet with red pants buckling around his waist and a red scarf wrapped around his neck. A green hat was snug on his head with a pair of goggles strapped on tightly. Slung around his shoulders and shown on his back was a bag full of different maps and scrolls. He raised his hand up to his forehead in a solute.

 

“I’m Captain Teemo, the Sw-” he was cut off by the other yordles elbow connecting to the side of his ribcage. The blue yordle cocked her head at him, barely maintaining smile.

 

“I’m Teemo.” he said slightly half-heartedly, disappointed at not being able to say what he was going to say.

 

Now the blue yordle stepped up. She had short, white hair that barely touched the bottom of her eye, beautifully matching her light blue skin color. Her attire consisted of a mix of armor and personal wear, steel gauntlets and boots were equipped and a buttoned blue overcoat covering her upper body as well as she was wearing purple pants. Strapped across her back and binded at her waist, a bag full of cannonballs were backpacked on her. Making sense of this, she leaned on her trusty rocket launcher which looked a little too large for her. Lux realizing this knew now that this was one of the yordles she had been observing earlier.

  
  
  
  


“And I’m Tristana.” she said coming out, trying to sound more professional than her partner Teemo, but didn’t come across well when she gave a nervous laugh partially due to Teemo’s performance.

 

Garen looked at Poppy, giving her an expression questioning if she was serious or not. Poppy returned gazes, only responding with a smile. Lux however was not in the least bit questioning this decision. In fact, she took an immediate liking to both of the two. She kneeled down just a bit, gaining about eye level with the two. Both pairs of lively blue eyes were looking at her.

 

“Hi there.” Lux greeted, swapping her sight between the both yordles. “I’m Lux.”

 

The air fell silent for a moment. Both species awaiting a response from the other, the yordles waiting for Lux to elaborate. Lux however was waiting for her brother Garen to say something. Instead when Lux looked over Garen was absorbed in his own thought. Lux grabbed Garen’s sleeve to his undershirt and pulled him down level to the yordles.

 

“Oww, hey!” Garen complained.

 

“And this is my brother Garen!” Lux said now slightly annoyed. This change in tone made Garen realize what she wanted him to do.

 

“Hey.” was all Garen was able to say, feeling very uncomfortable for the awkward greeting and could tell that everyone else was as well.

 

“Well,” Teemo started, trying to stray away from the greetings “you’re going to have to tell us about this mission because what’s her name over there isn’t telling us anything.” He pointed at Poppy.

 

“It’s Poppy for you sir.” she said.

 

“Yeah, Poopy.” he was trying and it was succeeding. Teemo looked at Poppy with devilish but childlike eyes. Poppy rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed but knowing that it was only sarcasm.

 

“Well if we’re going to leave then we should go soon.” Tristana said, her voice sounding of anxiety; not only was she anxious to go but also wanted to leave this silly conversation before it escalated any further.

 

“I agree.” Garen kind of just blurted out. The others looked at him in question. Garen quickly noticed his mistake, leaving himself feeling slightly embarrassed. His eyes drifted over the group but landed on Tristana’s. It was something about her and her gaze. Garen saw himself within the reflection of her gaze, and could tell that something about himself reflected inside her. They both smiled softly at each other.

 

“You guys can go now. Is everybody set to go?” Poppy said, doing a quick once-over of the party.

 

“Yup.” Lux said gleefully.

 

“Sure.” Tristana and Garen both said, now fixating their gaze away from each other.

 

“Going now would be smart anyways. I don’t want anyone to know that I’m leaving.” Tristana said, beginning to pick up her rocket launcher slinging it over her shoulder.

 

“Why not?” Teemo asked, turning around about to follow Tristana.

 

“Because if the little ones know that I left then they would be freaking out all day trying to find me. The last time that happened, boy was it chaos.” Tristana said, cringing at the thought of it. She began to walk with Teemo, slowly following at his side.  

 

Garen and Lux gathered their bearings before they began to stroll along behind their newfound companions.

 

The entrance in front of them had been the same one in which they had come through before. The sun had set just enough in the time spent to provide a nice line of shade to all that passed beyond a certain point. Without a word, they set out, taking in the beauty of the light beginning to seep through the horizon’s edge as they took their steps toward Bandle City’s main gate. As they approached the gate however, Lux felt a sudden hand tug on to her wrist.

 

Lux stumbled, turning around to find a blue furred yordle grasping her wrist. The first thing she noticed was his golden-honey colored eyes looking at her in worry. His facial expression looked worried, but not frightened. He wore a casual looking sky-blue shirt and black pants to go along with it.

 

“S-Sorry, but I just,” he seemed flustered as he stumbled over his words. “I need to ask something of you.”

 

Lux didn’t say anything. Instead the yordle stepped forward, closing some of the distance between the two.

 

“Take care of them ok? They’re my best friends. I don’t know what I would do without them.”

 

_“You will soon come to realize that yordles need each other much more than humans. We are all family here.”_

 

Poppy’s words rang in her head as she heard this. What were seemingly meaningful words evolved into reality in front of her. These two yordles are important to this one, and she could see it in his eyes. A newfound emotion sparked inside of Lux. She kneeled down next to the yordle, giving him a small smile.

 

“I will”

 

“Lux!” Lux turned around at the sound of her name being called by Tristana. She was looking over at her from the distance.

 

“Are you comi-” she cut off her voice at the sight of the other yordle, who now made his appearance known by stepping out from behind Lux.  

 

“Oh, hi Rumble.” she said, changing her tone of voice specifically for him. Her voice was immediately more cheerful.

 

“Hi Trist.” Rumble said abbreviating her name. He stumbled again over his next few words before saying them.

 

“Well, you have fun ok?”

 

Tristana gave him a wide smile, followed immediately by a solute from her.

 

“Always.” she said cheerfully. Both yordles looked at each other with wide smiles.

 

A flux of emotions flowed through Lux as she experienced the bond between the two yordles herself. What could only have been a minute and her perspective on Bandle City has grown through actions and Poppy’s words. A tear began to pool in her eye.

 

She left the sidewalk of Bandle City stained as her eternal tear dripped from her eye. Her memories here will never be forgotten.

 

* * *

 

 

The main gate shut behind Tristana and Lux as they were the last to leave. The forest beyond them was the same one that they had walked through to get here. Although from this viewpoint, Lux can see how dense the forest really is. A dirt trail was enough to guide wanderers here and from the city. Garen and Teemo were waiting for them, leaning up against a tall oak tree on the side of the path. Lux and Tristana approached them.

 

“So, where to?” Tristana asked.

  
  


“I’ll tell you about it while we’re walking, because what we are looking for could be anywhere.” Garen replied.

 

The sun had reached its peak height as the journey slowly begun. Teemo took a commanding lead, leaping right up to the front of the pact. Following shortly behind him was everyone else. The forest surrounding them seemed to fully envelop them in it presence. Looking on either side of them, they could only see a mirror of everything that was already presented to them, large outbranching trees, fragrant berry bushes, and an assortment of beautiful flowers scattered neatly on the rich soil.

 

“Anywhere you say?” Teemo said after a while. “That’s good, because I was going to lead us towards Kumungu, I forgot to stock up on poison the other day.”

 

“Teemo! You were supposed to do your chores before you go on a mission remember? Now this is only a delay in time!” Tristana yelled.

 

“Hey, it’s not my fault that Ziggs wanted my help to make poison bombs, I used all the poison I had for that!” he raised his arms up in exclamation.

 

“Well, they better be worth it then.” Tristana continued.

 

“Oh, they are. Trust me.” Teemo laughed sarcastically at it, because he knew that the experiment went horribly wrong.

 

“What’s Kumungu?” Lux asked shyly. The two yordles turned their head towards her.

 

“It’s a jungle not to far from here, just past the mountains.” Teemo said.

 

“Teemo goes there to collect his poison.”  Tristana clarified.

 

“Poison?” Garen asked suspiciously. “And what do you use this poison for?”

 

“Heh.” Teemo snickered a bit.

 

“Let’s just say that there is a reason why I’m known as one of Bandle City’s best.” he said in a deeper voice than normal. Serious.

 

“Don’t underestimate Teemo.” Tristana said clearly so the point got across. “If it weren’t for him, I would be dead ten times over already.”

 

“I can say the same here.” Teemo said, giving Tristana a quick high five.

  
  


“You two seem to know each other really well.” Garen said, now understanding why Lux took a liking to them so quickly.

 

“I’ve known Teemo since we were children. We’ve been friends ever since then.” Tristana said, remembering the old times.

 

“And now us and our friends have grown to be the strongest we could possibly be.” Teemo said, almost bragging at this point.

 

“If there’s one person I would trust to take on a difficult mission, it would be Tristana. She has the strength and capability to carry us by herself.”

 

“There’s no one else I’d rather have as a friend than Teemo. He can blind people for 2 weeks straight if he wanted to. Although hes a nice person most of the time.” Tristana said.

 

The entire time everyone had a smile on their face.

 

“Then there’s Rumble. You met him, right Lux.” Teemo asked.

 

“Yup.” she replied cheerfully, enjoying every bit of this conversation.

 

“Well he might not seem like it on first appearance, but he is the smartest yordle I’ve ever seen. He can make a robot that can shoot people out of twigs and grass.” Teemo exaggerated.

 

“And there is…” Tristana’s voice drifted off. She looked over at Teemo, predicting what she was going to say next. His mood and face shifted expressions, now looking more dreary.

 

“Then there… was… someone else.” Tristana’s voice now faded as well. “I don’t think Teemo would like me to tell you about him though.”

 

The air suddenly felt heavier around them. A cold breeze had picked up in the air, softly blowing the leaves and grass around them, as well as Teemo’s fur. Lux noticed how much Teemo stood out. Something about his fur seemed to glisten and shine, reflecting his personality. His eyes were looking at the ground as they were walking. Without light shining in his eyes, Lux could notice a tear forming in one eye.

 

“So enough about us.” Tristana said, trying to regain her old cheerful voice. “What about both of you?”

 

“Us?” Lux and Garen weren’t both prepared for the question.

 

“Well, you can’t really say that we’ve been friends for long since we’re siblings. We’ve known each other for forever.” Lux said.

 

“But we have our moments.” Garen said, not elaborating on it much further.

 

“I’ve heard a lot already about you Garen.” Teemo said, seeming to return to his normal self. “Lux I imagine that you’re skilled too, since you’re Garen’s sister.”

 

“No actually.” Lux said to their surprise. “In reality this is my first ever mission.”

 

“Really? Well I can imagine why they wouldn’t want to send such a beautiful and charming lady such as yourself on to the battlefield.” Teemo said with a slick smile on his face. Lux felt praised yet slightly coy at the fact she just got complimented by Teemo. A quick blush fell upon her face.  

 

“Oh my goodness.” Tristana mumbled in the background.

 

“Speaking of mission, what is our mission?” Teemo asked, not wanting to put the goal of why they came out here in the first place a while longer.

 

Garen explained the mission to Tristana and Teemo, both taking in what they were hearing. The forest around them now seemed to expand wider, the dirt trail now becoming wider as it headed into a brief clearing. The sun was still high in the sky, clouds now becoming imminent as off in the distance Lux could see an abundance of them. A light breeze now skimmed the surface of everyones skin and fur.

 

“I see.” Teemo said after hearing the information. “So we’re looking for 3 glowing artifacts the emit light?”

 

“Yes.” Garen replied.

 

“And they could be anywhere?” Tristana asked.

 

“Yes… sorry if it’s a little vague.”

 

“It’s fine” Teemo said. “It just gives us more time for an adventure.”

 

“Oh, I like adventures.” Lux said childishly.

 

“Yup, and our first stop is Kumungu!” Teemo exclaimed, now running off ahead of them in excitement.

 

The journey to Kumungu was tedious, however not as long as Garen and Lux both expected. In fact it took them less than a day to get there. Kumungu was a jungle located on the opposite side of the Sablestone Mountains as Bandle City. The jungle was a mysterious place, much different than the forest they were just in. Much more exotic, and alive. A place where it seemed like someone was watching you from around every corner. Very ominous indeed. However, this place was all too familiar to both Teemo and Tristana. They both walked through the damp soil harmlessly, knowing that nothing here will hurt them. Another brisk flow of wind rattled the leaves, making sprinkles of water from the previous rainshower pour on them. Almost unexpectedly, a small boar came running out from one of the trees charging straight in between Lux’s legs.

 

“Odd.” Teemo claimed as he made his way through the large leaves of the jungle plants that scoured this place.

 

After a while they had stopped walking. They took a rest under a tree big enough to provide shade to all of them.

 

“So, what to do now?” Lux asked.

 

“It’s getting night, we should probably set up camp somewhere.” Garen suggested.

 

“Ok, but I still need my poison before the night’s over. Can’t leave the camp unguarded just in case.” Teemo said.

 

“Ok, we can split up in to teams. Me and Garen can go look for a good spot to set up base camp while you and Lux look for your plant. It will be the most productive and we will have a better chance of finding one of these augments.” Tristana said.

 

“Good idea.” all of them agreed.

 

By now the sun was ever so slowly setting behind the mountains. The angle the light from the sun shown illuminated the sky a warm orange glow. Shadow’s began to cast over the plantlife on one side, beginning to settle and rest until a new day arose. The group separated into their specified teams. With a quick good luck, both groups dispersed.

 

* * *

 

 

“So what are we looking for exactly?” Lux asked, not knowing what Teemo is looking for. She understood that he was looking for his poison, but from what?

 

“It’s a rare plant, a basic flower really.” Teemo said as he was inspecting every corner and clearing in the jungle to find one. “It has seven petals and is a bright yellow. You can’t miss it out here.”

 

“Seven petals, bright yellow. Got it.” Lux confirmed.

 

“I have equipment in my bag I can use to extract the poison quickly. If we find it fast, we can get back to camp before night.” Teemo said.

 

As they began to search for the plant, a moon began rising in the sky, illuminating the jungle in a different light. Because of this, different types of plant life began to appear more distinct. Some plants seemingly glowing in the moon’s still light. Some plants seeking to be divine, as if it were unnatural.

 

As they were passing through a small outcropping, Lux noticed a flash of yellow fly through her peripheral. She turned to see what it was.

 

“Hey Teemo.” she called out, stopping Teemo in his tracks. “Is this it?”

 

Before her was a small flower, meeting the requirements that Teemo had specified. It had seven silky petals that stretched out and a bright dandelion yellow color that stood out in the night.

 

“Perfect.” Teemo said as he walked over to Lux.  

 

Teemo knelt down next to the flower, slowly unstrapping his sack off of his back, careful not to spill what was already overflowing with maps and scrolls. From it he took out a few items: a small vial big enough to hold a couple ounces of liquid, a pincushion needle with the tip being small enough to only create a small hole, and a small rounded base hollowed in the center.

 

He first placed the base on the bottom of the flower, and with a small click the edges clamped the stem of the flower, not hard enough to cut the stem from the ground but firm enough to hold the flower upright and steady. With the flower now facing completely upwards instead of lopsided, Teemo took the needle in one hand and the vial in another. Carefully, Teemo raised the needle over the disk flowers and punctured a small hole right in the center. The flower recoiled in the needle’s touch, but gave way to oozing a small stream of thick purple poison right in to the vial which Teemo was holding beneath the flower.

 

Lux sat and watched the entire process. It was not lengthy, in fact it didn’t take much time at all. Teemo slid the vial out from under the flower, being practically full. He took a small cap and locked it over the top of the vial.

 

“What do you use this for?” Lux finally asked, breaking the silence.

 

“Hmm?” Teemo did not quite catch the question at first. “Oh yes!”

  
  


Teemo reached into his bag and quickly pulled out a bundle of darts and a blowdart. The darts were kept neatly together, tied together with string. The blowdart looked exquisite. The way Teemo held it, told Lux that it was precious to him.

 

“This is my weapon.” Teemo said, laying the darts aside. He now held it with two hands. “It’s a blowgun that I’ve had for a long time, made out of the finest wood Bandle City has.”

 

After adoring the blowdart, he reached over to the darts.

 

“I use poison darts. That’s why I needed this poison. I coat the tip of the darts with it.” Teemo said.

 

Lux could only imagine what it must feel like, getting pierced by one of his poison darts. It hurt just thinking about it.

 

“So this is what you use to defend yourself with.” Lux said coyly.

 

“I don’t only defend myself with this. I am not always the defender.” Teemo pointed out, putting away his materials. “Sometimes I’m the attacker.”

 

Lux did not know what to think of those words, only mixed emotions as a howling wind began to pick up in the air.

 

“What does it feel like?” Lux asked hesitantly.

 

“What does what feel like?” Teemo said.

 

Lux took a deep breath to regain her composure, thinking about the question made her uneasy but she knew she needed to ask it.

 

“I’ve never asked my brother this because I was too afraid to ask him, but now I feel like I need to know.” She locked eyes with Teemo, making him know she expected an honest answer.

 

“What does it feel like to kill someone?”

 

Teemo did not expect a question of this caliber. He was surprised at the girl’s broad question and did not know how to answer it.

 

“I’m surprised that you’re able to trust me with this question and not Garen.” Teemo said, trying to blow off the question.

  
  
  


“I trust you, Teemo.” Lux said with pure honesty. “From the two days I’ve been in Bandle City i’ve seen and realized lot already. It touches me when I see the bonds you and your other friends have formed. I only wished that I could recreate these same bonds back at home.”

 

Teemo looked in to her eyes. His eyes was now particularly digging deeper into hers, and seeing something inside of her that only a few people have yet to realize.

 

“It’s hard. Killing someone.” Teemo said as he unlocked his eyes from hers, not yet willing to say it while looking into her eyes. “Emotionally. It makes you think about previous events in your life. Makes you think about whether you did right or wrong before.” he didn’t go into it much further.

 

Lux could tell that Teemo struggled to say these words, not wanting to express his own emotions towards her. Although he just did meant a lot to Lux.

 

“Thank you, Teemo.” she said closing her eyes as she lifted herself to her feet. Teemo did so as well.

 

“Hey Lux?” Teemo now asked.

 

“Yes?” Lux replied.

 

“After this mission is over, I welcome you back to Bandle City anytime.”

 

Teemo locked eyes with her as he said this, now saying it with his own honesty. True honesty.

 

Lux and Teemo smiled at each other as they walked back into the jungle together.

 

* * *

 

 

_(Meanwhile)_

 

After they had separated, Garen and Tristana searched the opposite way that Teemo and Lux had went. To find a place to set up camp was not easy in a dense jungle. It took them a good while of making their way through the pointy jungle leaves and thick brushes to find the opening presented now. Soft jungle grass laid out the carpet in the opening, slowly leading up to a rigid cliffside. The cliffside presented a wondrous view. From below they could see more of the Kumungu jungle, the tree canopy making out the layer that they could see the most. One would just not look directly down from the cliffside or it would induce a feeling of nausea. Above them was the now almost pitch black sky. From the cliffside, it felt as if the stars were closer and they were only a few small vertical steps away from pulling the sky right out from above them.

 

“Finally! We found something.” Tristana exasperated.

 

“This should be good for the four of us.” Garen claimed.

 

“Yup.” Tristana said as she tiredly sat on the grass, preparing to rest a short while after a long walk. Garen plumped down next to her, also tired from the journey.

 

Tristana carefully laid her rocket launcher in between her and Garen, almost as if she wanted Garen to see it. Inevitably he took notice in it. It was a very peculiar device to him. The muzzle was collared with a gold brace and ruby red jewels, all encasing the wood base that looked like a mini tree trunk. It was a pretty big for a yordle, in fact almost matching Tristana’s height.

 

“That rocket looks pretty big for you.” Garen started.

 

“I get that a lot.” Tristana said, now laying a hand across the top of it. “It’s a sight for sore eyes though.”

 

“It’s uncommon for someone to find one of these in Demacia.” Garen stated.

 

“Really? You think Demacia would have the technology for this.” she said surprised.

 

“You’d think.” Garen rolled on to his side, looking at Tristana. Tristana, taking notice, rolled her head to look back at him.

 

“There’s something about you that intrigues me, I just can’t put my finger on it.” Garen knew, she just wanted her to think about it.

 

“Well is it a good thing or a bad thing?” Tristana asked.

 

“A good thing, definitely a good thing.” Garen clarified.

 

“Oh,” she wandered off in thought. She knew about Garen and his stories. To be complimented like that was a big thing.

 

Garen, now just realizing it, had his battle armor on the entire day.

 

“Ugh, this armor can really be a drag sometimes.” Garen said as he stood up.

 

“Yeah, its friggin huge.” Tristana said, laughing slightly. Garen laughed as well.

 

A giant armor set is not the easiest thing in the world to take off. Multiple latches kept the armor locked and tight, so during battle it would not falter easy. Garen did have to battle the most formidable foes after all. Underneath all of the armor, Garen wore an ocean blue tee-shirt and black shorts. Casual wear, like he would wear most of the time in Demacia.

 

“There we go, now I can actually feel the wind blowing.” he said, spreading out his arms, letting the now spiraling wind flow through his body.

 

“Never knew the mighty Garen could be so spiritual.” Tristana teased, looking at Garen from behind.

 

With his arms still spread, Garen walked over to the cliffside, making sure not to look down. He let himself consume the view. The jungle blossomed everywhere below him, giving the jungle a life of its own.

 

“Hey Tristana, have you seen this view?” Garen questioned motioning her over at the same time.

 

“No.” Tristana walked over towards Garen.

 

“Wow, the jungle looks so pretty from up here!” she exclaimed. She sat down, legs hanging off the edges.  Garen sat down next to her.

 

“From this point I wonder how Teemo did it.” Tristana said amazed.

 

“Did what?” Garen asked.

 

“Memorize this entire place. He’s been here so much that he's practically memorized where everything in this jungle is.” Tristana said.

 

Garen didn’t respond to this. He also wondered how Teemo had become so acquainted with the luscious jungle. Instead he picked up a rock and threw it off into the distance. They both watched as the rock disappeared into the canopy below them.

 

“See that tree, way over there.” she pointed out to a tree off in the distance below them, located in a small clearing in the canopy. One of the only trees where you can see the trunk of it.

 

“Yes.” Garen said.

 

“I bet you I can hit it from here with my rocket.” Tristana looked at Garen, a challenging smile on her face.

 

“No way.” Garen didn’t believe that she could do it, however the look on her face made him nervous.

 

“It’s a bet then? Loser gets to collect wood for the fireplace.” she held out her hand, still with the same smile on her face. Garen eyed her for a moment before making up his mind.

 

“You’re on.” Garen challenged shaking her hand, now with the same smile on his face.

 

With this, Tristana picked up her rocket launcher and held it up in position. She didn’t bother to stand up, she was going to shoot from her sitting position. Garen observed her, alligning her sights to form in the direction of the tree. From shooting from such a long distance, especially with a rocket launcher, you needed to account for a lot of variables. Wind, heat, aim, trajectory…

 

Boom

 

A loud bang went off as Tristana pulled the trigger, causing her to fall back in her sitting position. Birds flew from the trees, startled from the loud noise. More birds flew out from the trees below as the rocket whizzed past the trees they were nested in. Ever so slightly did the rocket curve just a little bit to each side, making its way towards the tree until…

 

“Bullseye!” Tristana cheered as she jumped up from where she was standing, doing a little dance.

 

The rocket went straight through the center of the tree trunk, leaving a very noticeable and clear hole in the middle.

 

“Damn!” Garen exclaimed. “You’re a crack shot!”

 

Not only was Garen impressed, he was amazed! He had never seen anyone shoot from that distance and land a perfect shot like that. Garen turned around with a wide and proud smile on his face to a now laughing Tristana.

 

“You’re good!” he said proudly.

 

“Thanks!” Tristana said, proud that she pulled off the shot herself as well. She took a seat next to Garen again.

 

“I think I know who I remind you of as now.” Tristana said.

 

“Who?” Garen asked.

 

“Yourself.” much to Garen’s surprise this was the right answer. “Your strong, confident, brave, intelligent, and I can see that in your eyes that you look at me as recognition, almost as if you’re looking in a mirror.” Tristana blushed at her own statement.

 

“Not only that, you have the heart of a warrior.” Garen now complimented. “You have the will of the ones you love in your heart. And like you I can tell that just from looking in their eyes.”

 

Once again Tristana blushed from the compliment, the red becoming very apparent on her face. It was not every day one got recognition from Garen, and to get one since Garen was so well known was a huge honor to all.

 

Tristana turned her attention now away from Garen and back to the landscape below them, still thinking about Garen’s words.

 

“You know I let Teemo try and shoot this once.” Tristana started. “It was so funny, hehe.” she began laughing at the memory.

 

“What happened?” Garen laughed.

 

“Well for one when he was about to shoot it he had the muzzle pointing the wrong way. That accounts for one of the times I saved his life.”

 

“Haha” Garen started laughing as well.

 

“And when he did finally shoot it,” she animated what happened with her hands. “He went flying back like 10 feet.” she now bursted out laughing and so did Garen. Imagining the thought of the brown yordle flying backwards was too funny.

 

“Ehh, fun times.” Tristana calmed down a bit, still laughing however.

 

“What’s with Teemo anyway?” Garen asked, now on the subject of Teemo.

 

“What do you mean?” Tristana asked.

 

“Well, I mean I don’t want to underestimate the him…” Garen said, not wanting to sound mean.

 

“Don’t!” Tristana said clearly. “Like seriously. He may look awesome and all, but he’s super serious when it comes to battle.”

 

“Really…” Garen said slightly surprised. Teemo did not seem like the kind of person for battle.

 

“Yeah.” Tristana now looked into Garen’s eyes. “People often times judge him by his appearance, but that’s their biggest mistake. This is what makes Teemo the perfect assassin.”

 

“Assassin.” Interesting word Garen thought. So that’s what makes him deadly. The misinterpretation of his abilities.

 

“And what about you?” Garen asked, curious to know more about Tristana now.

 

“Me? Well I’m part of the Meggling Commandos.”

 

“Really!?” Garen said surprised again. The Meggling Commandos were something of a legend in Bandle City. This girl kept on shocking him.

 

“Yeah. They were my inspiration when I was young and because of that I got to where I am today.” Tristana said shyly.

 

“Well I’m proud of you.” Garen said.

 

“Thanks.” Tristana said, again blushing.

 

“I guess that makes you and Teemo the perfect deadly couple.” Garen said with a devious smile on his face.

 

“Yeah, I guess we are…” Tristana looked at Garen, noticing his smile.

 

“NOPE! Not like that though!” Tristana pointed out when she finally realized what he was implying. Garen started laughing.

 

“Speaking of Teemo.” Garen pointed down into the canopy below, noticing two figures move through the trees. As they came out into a clearing, it was now apparent that it was Teemo and Lux heading back. Lux caught sight of the two watching them from above, grabbing Teemo by the shoulder turning him around making him catch notice of the two as well. Teemo quickly realized where they were and begin running off, leading Lux with him marking that they were heading towards them.

 

“They’re coming back. Which means,” Tristana patted Garen on the back. “Good luck getting the firewood.”

 

* * *

 

 

It was a quiet night for them. The only sounds heard was the whistling wind in the air as it blew Teemo’s fur. A warm campfire was made by Garen in the middle with four small green tents on either side of it, large enough to hold one of them. Together they were surrounding the campfire, each holding a piece of boar meat on the end of a stick. Teemo cleverly skinned a boar they had found earlier and made it into a very fine piece of meat.

 

Garen sat next to Teemo. Teemo had a map laid out on his lap. Together they were discussing on where to go next. Lux and Tristana were off on the opposite side, talking about their own things.

 

“So if we were to go here next morning,” Teemo said, pointing to a clearing on his map “It would provide us a good area to start. If these things can be anywhere, we want a good vantage area where we can all regroup if need be.”

 

“Sounds like a plan.” Garen finalized. He rolled up the map and put it back in to Teemo’s bag.

 

Looking back, he noticed Teemo was still looking at him.

 

“Hey, Tristana told me what you and her were talking about earlier.” Teemo said, leaning closer to make sure that Tristana couldn’t hear.

 

“I’ve considered it before, asking her out.”

 

“You should try it! I feel it would work out.” Garen encouraged.

 

“I know, but…” Teemo sighed. “I would rather prefer it if we were just friends. I like her, its just it would be awkward to be in a relationship with your best friend.”

 

“If that’s what you feel like is the best, then stick with it. I’m just saying both of you are an awesome duo.” Garen said.

 

“Yeah well” Teemo gave a slight snicker “Guy talk.”

 

Garen gave a small chuckle. “Guy talk.” he repeated.

 

_*Boom*_

 

With that a distinct sound came from beyond the cliff. A storm has begun to brew. Off in the distance you could see the clouds start to form into one giant cloud. The sounds of thunder were the first to come, but then you could see flashes of lightning strike the jungle below them. It was still a far distance away from them, although it was heading in their direction.

 

“Looks like a storm.” Garen said. “I should go begin to pack stuff in my tent.”

 

With that Garen had left. Lux, also noticing the lightning, began to do the same task Garen was doing. Teemo continued to sit there, watching the lightning, observing it intently. The way it came down upon the ground, the jagged lightning bolts ripping through the sky…

 

… Something was off.

 

The clouds were far too close together for it to be a legitimate rainstorm. It seemed to form a circle over one particular area off in the distance. A clean, perfect circle. The lightning came down at surprisingly regular intervals, keeping pace with each other, and almost hitting the same spot twice. It was far too… clean.

 

“Teemo…” Tristana said from behind Teemo. “It’s not who you think it is, is it?” the words came out very hesitantly.

 

“It is.” Teemo said. The expression on his face along with his voice was serious. “I know it is.”

 

Tristana took a seat next to Teemo on the cliff, both now observing the lightning. Tristana now realizing the pattern had become enticed like Teemo. Both recognizing what it was that they were looking at all too well.

 

“Well if it is we’re in for a pretty interesting road ahead of us.” Tristana said, now with her serious voice.

 

Teemo did not reply. She was right, if it was him he wondered about what would happen. After all they did say that his heart beats eternally, and those beaten will remember eternally. Teemo was one who would always remember him, once more than a friend, hopefully always still a friend. He only knew one thing however…

 

A storm was coming.

 

 

  
  



	6. Chapter 5: Tears of the Tempest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New main character introduced. Relationships formed, developed, and mentioned. Tension and emotion depicted.

_Day 5_

 

_*Boom*_

 

If a day could be anymore inverse than the last then this would be it. The previous clear sky was now filled with giant grey rainclouds, thick enough to expand the planet itself. Rain pelted the jungle that surrounded them, plants being assaulted by the continuous pursuit of water bullets. The giant jungle trees shielded a lot of the incoming rain, although it still seeped through enough to land upon the group as they were shielding their faces from it. It was now a struggle to navigate the forest; left and right, back and forward  the rain blocked vision after a short distance. Lux found it unbelievable that Teemo could still walk considering his fur was thick enough to absorb the water like a sponge, nor that Garen could still stand if his armor didn’t already make his chest overflow with water already. She had it the easiest physically. She was the only one that didn’t have any constraints that could hold her down amongst the rain. Tristana had to lug a rocket launcher and a bag full of cannon balls around and that’s not easy.

 

The storm came overnight while they were all sleeping. The rain woke them up, then only a brief shower. However they made sure to make quick departure after they saw the eye of the storm was still far away. The unfortunate part was that their destination was through the storm, so only turn back or endure the storm. As Garen and Teemo both know, there is no turning back on a mission.

 

Teemo was at the front, trying the guide them through the now even thicker jungle as best as he could. Following directly in his footsteps were the rest of them, treading in a single file line so that none of them got separated. Lux was in the back, trying not to trip over Tristana as she struggled to keep up. A once beautiful scenario has now become the maelstrom for her demise. The storm held them captive for the longest time. It seemed as if there was going to be no end to it and the farther and farther they continued, the worst it got. There was no talking during the time they were walking. If anyone was to start a conversation in this weather, it would be Teemo. However he seemed… different today than yesterday. Much more serious, more confidence, but also more nervous, more anxious, more wanting. His footsteps seemed of marching more of treading in the wet mud that encased their feet. His arms in front of his eyes but his eyes slim in search, in pursuit of something.

 

After some hours of walking, the rain finally died down, however the storm was not over. Another set of dark grey clouds were already roaming in. It was a short break period, so they used this time to take a rest. Although it was hard to sit down and relieve their legs from the stress they had just undergone, soaking their backs to the slippery tree trunks seemed more suitable to them. Lux leaned against a tree, tired from the expedition. She looked up through a break in the trees to notice that the sun had only hit the peak of its height.

 

“Really…” she complained to herself. “It’s only noon.”

 

However there was something else that intrigued her. The view did not only provide her with a view of the sun, but something big. Perplexed, Lux repositioned herself to gain a better view. It was a tree. A giant, no massive tree that bellowed above all other trees took her breath away. It was a distance away, yet it was just huge.

 

“Hey guys! Come look at this!” she called over to the others. They began to walk over towards her. Lux pointed towards the tree, which even to Teemo looked odd.

 

“What is that?” Lux asked.

 

“I don’t know.” Teemo said, curious himself.

 

“You don’t? I thought you were supposed to know everything about this jungle.” Tristana said exaggerating.

 

“It’s not. Look at it a bit closer.” Garen pointed out.

 

Upon closer inspection the tree was not actually a jungle tree, just a normal oversized tree. The leaves were not as big as a jungle tree. The color was a bolder but less distinct green like a forest tree. The tree was pretty far away, which left its size left up to imagination for when they are close up to it.

 

“There’s a forest beyond here. That’s where the tree is located.” Garen clarified.

 

“That explains it then.” Lux noted.

 

“Hmm” Teemo thought. “We should make our way over there. Could be interesting.”

 

“We’d have to go through the storm though.” Tristana said, looking over at the sea of clouds that was heading their way.

 

“Then we’ll endure, like we did before. We will find these things.” Teemo said strictly. He climbed upon a tree, gaining a better view. From overhead, the forest was not that far away. He could see where the jungle cut off into forest.

 

“Teemo…” Tristana worried.

 

“We should go now if we are to make it there before sundown.” Teemo said, hopping down from the tree. “Let’s go.”

 

Through the rain once again, they headed towards the giant tree that they had seen before. The transfer of biomes was not long after they had spotted the tree, it only took them an hour to notice the trees change and the canopy lower upon them. The atmosphere changed, feeling now more enclosed in the forests embrace, however still being pounded by the storm. If it were a normal day, Lux could imagine beautiful animal and plant life conversing with each other in harmony. However a spiritual sense was sucked away from them, the forest feeling and being more natural than the jungle. Still being blanketed by rain, the forest seemed much easier to navigate since there wasn’t any large plants and walls of trees blocking them from going somewhere. It was much more open than the jungle.

 

After a while of walking, they came upon a landmark sight. Upon them was the large trunk of the massive tree, which conveniently was in its own area where other trees were not around, only a large grass field separated them from it. They were standing from the trees, observing as the tree swayed in the wind. The leaves of the tree were very high up in the sky, spread more than the other trees allowing more rain to pour through.

 

“It’s so big.” Lux said quietly to herself.

 

“Should we stay here?” called Tristana, looking over at Teemo.

 

“We can stop here for now.” Teemo said. “We can continue tomorr-”

 

_*Thwack*_

 

Without warning something skimmed past Teemo brushing against his fur, something sharp. It connected with a tree, sticking to it. Teemo flinched backwards.

 

“What the hell!” Teemo yelled in surprise.

 

“What was that?” Tristana asked, looking behind them but not finding anything that could’ve launched it at them.

 

Teemo looked at the object now pinned on the tree. It was a little blade with a piece of paper on the back of it.

 

“Kunai?” Teemo questioned. He slowly took steps towards it. As he did he could hear a small hissing sound that came from the paper attached to it. Cautiously, he grabbed the piece of paper and turned it around.

 

“Shit…” Teemo realized. The paper was laced with a lit gunpowder fuse.

 

“Paper bomb!” Teemo yelled.

 

They were only able to run a short distance away before it exploded around them.

 

* * *

 

 

Fog. His eyesight, he couldn’t see much at the moment. The only thing he could remember was an explosion that had set him unconscious.Garen was the first to awake from the conflict. Not a jolt was he fully awake yet, he actually felt weak.

 

“Damn.” Garen thought to himself. “What happened?”

 

Sitting up from where he was he felt lightheaded, stumbling as his hands caught him from lying down again. The grass he touched was wet.

 

“Rain.” he thought.

 

Garen looked up in the sky only to notice that it wasn’t raining anymore. The sky was now clear like nothing ever happened. Stars shown through the dark sky, but the sky wasn’t the only thing visible. Leaves. Leaves obscured his vision of the clear sky. Garen attempted a second time to sit up, this time succeeding. To his surprise, he was in a different place than he was before the explosion. Before him was the giant tree trunk of the massive tree that they were looking at before. Now he had a close up view, noticing that its size was that of a giant wall, extending far to the right and left before circling around to form the circular tree before him. Unlike before, he could notice animal life settling in the tree. Bird nests were scattered across the tree and squirrels cuddled into small cubby holes across the bottom. A brisk breeze flowed in the air, letting him know that there was once a storm here. A chill flowed throughout Garen’s body, but noticed that something warmed himself off quickly.

 

Looking to his side he was shocked that he didn’t notice his friends laying beside him before, still unconscious but seemingly at peace. They were lined up next to him: Teemo, Tristana, Lux, and then Garen at the end. Looking up past Teemo however there was a person. No, a yordle. He could tell, the back of the yordles head was of fur, the same color fur as Teemo. His attire surprised Garen, seeming something a yordle wouldn’t wear. A purple ninja garb, except right now his hood was down. He was sitting on a log, hunching over a campfire that he had set up.

 

To Garen, the yordle before him was a threat, the one who had attacked him. From his armor that he had been laying in, he slowly drew out a knife making sure to make no sound as he did so.

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” the yordle said, not bothering to turn his head. His voice was just a tad bit deeper than Teemo’s yet very similar.

 

“He heard me?” Garen thought to himself.

 

“You’re still weak. I also don’t think Teemo would appreciate it if you killed me.” the yordle said, a seemingly joking voice but was serious.

 

Garen was speechless. How did he know who Teemo was? With those words he put his knife away, still staring at the back of the yordle. To his noticement, he was eating. He had mushrooms on a stick, holding them over the fire to have them cooked.

 

“Aren’t those Teemo’s mushrooms?” Garen said, not afraid to say Teemo’s name in front of him since he apparently knows Teemo.

 

“Yeah,” he said “I don’t think he would mind though.”

 

The yordle turned around to face Garen. His face was very similar to Teemo’s although not the type to keep an eternal smile on his face. Laces of hair flowed across his face, some spiking to the top of his head. His furry ears were raised, pointing towards the sky.

 

“Are you hungry?” he asked innocently.

 

Garen didn’t respond immediately, still observing the yordle who was now observing him. Together they looked at each other for a while.

 

“Sure.” Garen answered after a while.

 

With that the yordle turned around, immediately taking a blade out from under his garb. Quickly, he made work of the whole mushrooms, slicing one down into multiple smaller pieces catching them in his furry hand. Afterwards he grabbed another stick and stabbed the stick through them, creating sort of a kabob of sliced mushrooms. He got up standing straight and walked over towards Garen, ignoring the others for now much to the disapproval to the yordles will. He knelt down next to Garen, holding out the stick.

 

“Here.” the yordle offered.

 

Much to Garen’s thought, he was painfully submissive being very hungry. He took the kabob from him.

 

“Thanks.” Garen said.

 

“No problem. Teemo taught me how to do that.” the yordle said shyly.

 

He stood up and walked over to Teemo, kneeling down next to him. Garen observed while eating. A pain seemed to strike to yordles eyes as he looked down at the unconscious Teemo. Shaking, he put his head up to Teemo’s forehead. After a while his hand left his forehead and went over to do the same thing, coming to a stop at Garen. He hesitated for a while before speaking up.

 

“I need to check your temperature, make sure you’re not sick in any ways.” he said.

 

“Why should I trust you?” Garen asked boldly. This seemed to take the yordle by surprise.

 

“You don’t have a reason to trust me. I’m just asking for your approval.” he said intently, looking at him in the eyes. Once again, Garen didn’t answer immediately.

 

“Fine.” Garen sighed.

 

“Good.” the yordle smiled. Slowly, he put his hand on Garen’s forehead making sure Garen didn’t make any sudden movements while doing so. The yordles touch was soft yet comforting, warm. Warm from the warmth that was collected in his fur. A touch that meant no harm.

 

He removed his hand, giving Garen a questioning look. Garen nodded in approval, knowing what he meant. The yordle still felt unsure about being around the human, although was brave. He took a seat next to him. The whole scenario was awkward for both of them, both of them not yet willing to trust each other.

 

“Who are you?” Garen said after a long silence.

 

“I can ask you the same thing.” the yordle rebutled, making it known that he was uncomfortable revealing himself. “But I already know who you are Garen. You’re pretty well known.”

 

“Well I don’t think someone in a ninja outfit could pass for a ninja just by wearing it.” Garen teased smiling a bit. The yordle took the joke.

 

“Well I am a ninja, thank you for noticing.” he said smiling at Garen. “And if you didn’t realize yet I did my best to take care of all of you.”

 

This was true. If he were to be unconscious in a storm him and the others would be much filthier than they were. Instead they were clean from any mud or dirt that got on them.

 

“Well if you won’t tell me what your name is, then tell me how you know Teemo.” Garen said, trying his best to get the most out of the yordle possible.

 

“Long story. Once he wakes up, I’m sure that you’ll figure it out for yourself.” he said. Now he couldn’t help but look over at Teemo. “We’ve known each other for a long time. Me, him, and Tristana.”

 

“You know Tristana too?” Garen questioned.

 

“Yeah.” he said, looking down at the ground. Garen leaned to look at his face, his eyes drooping down holding back his emotions. He gave a sniffle.

 

“Hey, are you ok?” Garen asked, putting his hand on the yordles back.

 

“Yeah… yeah.” the yordle said, regaining his composure. He now sat straight and looked at Garen.

 

“I’m sorry.” he confessed. “I didn’t know who you were when I threw the bomb. I couldn’t see through rain and when I finally came up and saw Teemo and Tristana both laying on the ground…” his emotions quickly caught up to him again, leaving him to bury his face in his hands. Garen this entire time did not know what to think. He confessed he was the attacker but it was unintentional.

 

After a while, the yordle lifted his head up from his hands, leaving his eyes a little bloodshot.

 

“My name is -”

 

“Kennen.”

 

A voice from behind him became present. It was Teemo. He was sitting up and staring at the yordle, Kennen was his name. Kennen flinched hearing his voice behind him, turning around to meet contact with his eyes. His stern, blue eyes made contact with Kennen’s brown eyes. Both of them staring deep into each others eyes, into each others souls for a long while.

 

“Teemo.” Kennen said hesitantly, still looking at Teemo.

 

Teemo’s eyes left his for a brief second, looking over at Tristana. He put his hand on her chest, thankfully feeling a pulse.

 

“You’re lucky.” Teemo said sternly. “You could’ve killed one of us.” He remade eye contact with Kennen.

 

Kennen didn’t say anything, instead repressing his inner emotions rather than fully expressing them yet. Maintaining locked eyes with Teemo the air changed around them, going perfectly still. There was no more breeze anymore and the world seemed to quiet around them, focusing on the intense staring battle between Teemo and Kennen. Teemo closed his hands, balling them into a tight fist.

 

“Who said you could use my mushrooms?” Teemo asked not angrily, noticing Garen eating them.

 

“I didn’t think you would mind.” Kennen said, taking a deep breath before he got up and moved back to the campfire, Teemo’s eyes on him the entire time. Kennen took a seat on the log he was sitting on before, knowing that Teemo’s eyes were still on him. He didn’t look back at him however. Instead he seemed to be shaky at Teemo’s gaze. He hunched himself, shakily fiddling with his hands. Teemo let out a sigh. He put his hands at his side attempting to push himself up, only to be met with the realization that he was still injured. He stumbled backwards, landing back on the ground.

 

“You’re still injured.” Kennen said laughing under his breath, looking over at Teemo.

 

“Thanks, I didn’t notice.” Teemo said sarcastically, regaining himself. Dusting off the the dirt on his arm he felt the gaze of Kennen fall upon him. He didn’t regain eye-contact, not wanting to stare into his eyes.

 

Kennen noticed this, looking away after a while. Deep in thought he kept his head cocked sideways for a while, biting his lower lip. After a while Kennen sprang up from where he was sitting, standing straight up and walked over to where Teemo was sitting. Teemo did not look at him, but knew that Kennen was now standing close to him. Sighing, Kennen sat down next to Teemo on the damp soil. Teemo’s back was to Kennen, denying his presence there. Kennen stayed looking at him, longing to gather the courage to do something. After a while, Kennen did something that Teemo did not expect. Teemo was startled when Kennen leaned his back up against Teemo’s so that the two were sitting back to back.

 

“What are you doing?” Teemo asked trying to sound dominant but didn’t come out well.

 

“Trying my best to not avoid you, no matter how much my mind wants me to.” Kennen said, eyes closed.

 

“Kennen…” Teemo said, sounding worried. Teemo pushed himself against  Kennen now, weighing himself against Kennen’s weight keeping himself up straight. Slowly, Teemo leaned his head backwards, the back of his head now touching Kennen’s. Kennen let this happen, now both furry heads straight up.

 

Garen was sitting and observing this entire time, not knowing what to think of the situation. He couldn’t yet tell if they were friends or enemies. Nonetheless it was a sight for him. The two obviously had some sort of a connection between them, Garen couldn’t tell what from. Kennen looked over to remember that Garen had been there that entire time.

 

“So,” Kennen started. “Teemo hasn’t told you about us has he?”

 

“Stop!” Teemo said. “I don’t want him to know about us.”

 

“Well it’s only a matter of time now, you know Tristana can’t hide this once she knows I’m here.” Kennen said smirking.

 

“I will make her not tell anyone!” Teemo yelled.

 

“Yeah, because that will work.”

“It will!” Teemo said again loudly, less confident however knowing that he was true. Tristana couldn’t not gossip about them.

 

“Teemo.” Kennen said in a soft voice. “You can’t keep hiding me forever, even if this is the first time I’ve seen you in a year.”

 

“I know I can’t keep hiding you!” Teemo clarified. “It’s just… I’ve been wanting to shove you out of my mind, but how much you are to me is too much…” Teemo hesitated, not wanting to reveal too much in front of Garen.

 

“How much I mean to you…” Kennen said quietly, voice quivering. He hung his head, closing his eyes for a long time. Teemo stayed there, not feeling his fur touch the back of his head anymore. Only feeling the small shaking Kennen was making as he sobbed quietly to himself. After a while, Kennen hung his head back up, leaning his head against Teemo’s heavily, pushing him forward a bit.

 

“I’m sorry… about that day.” Kennen said sadly.

 

“Let’s not get into that right now.” Teemo said. He could feel Kennen’s head nod against his.

 

“Kennen!” a voice yelled from the side. Them and Garen looked over finding the surprised face of Tristana looking at them with big eyes, the blue being illuminated by the crackling fireplace. Her face slowly turned into a smile the more she looked at Kennen.

 

“Hey Trist.” Kennen said coyly, looking at her. He stood up now, standing there awkwardly.

 

Fast, she got up from where she was standing. The explosion still left her stumbling, but from this moment she managed to stand without falling. Slowly Kennen watched as Tristana made waddled her way towards him, only to be surprisingly met by her arms wrapping around him rather than a slap on the face. It was a quick hug, releasing as she quickly noticed Teemo was watching them.

 

“Holy crap!” Tristana exclaimed. She looked between the two, soon waving her arms between the two looking flustered. Kennen caught her when she eventually leaned back too much almost falling over. She then looked over at Garen who was just sitting there watching.

 

“Do you know what happened between-”

 

“NOPE!” both Teemo and Kennen yelled, interrupting her mid sentence. They both shot a quick glance at each other.

 

“Later Tristana.” Teemo said letting out a deep sigh.

 

“Oh…” Tristana said, sounding slightly disappointed but understood where he was coming from. “So what happened exactly?” Tristana asked after a moment of silence.

 

“What do you think happened?” Teemo said shooting a look at Kennen. Kennen just looked into Teemo’s eyes, not responding. Tristana noticed Teemo’s anger, but felt his emotion towards Kennen.

 

“Oh I know, we got blown up! Yeah that’s what happened!” Tristana said sarcastically, looking at Teemo angrily. She turned her gaze to Kennen. “So Kennen, what did actually happen?”

 

“I love how she automatically assumes it’s me.” Kennen mumbled, putting his head on his fist.

 

“What was that?” Tristana said, now getting more angry. She held her hand up to ear, leaning towards Kennen.

 

“You know what happened Trist! Kennen attacked us!” Teemo yelled at her. Kennen was now gritting his teeth, squeezing his eyes harder.

 

“Guys - !” Garen tried to step in.

 

“STOP” Kennen outbursts, gaining everyone’s attention. “I don’t need to put up with your guys’ bullcrap! Not after this! Not after then! Not after everything! This is the first time I’ve seen you in a year and this is what I get! Not even a hello!? Just THIS!” Kennen yelled very loudly, putting his hands up by his head in frustration. They all stared at the angry Kennen in shock of his outburst. Kennen’s eyes passed through all of them, awaiting a response but not getting any. After a while he let his arms fly down beside him, turning and walking over to the trunk of the tree. He slowly ran his hands over the rough and chunky bark, damp from the rain. Then quickly Kennen chambered his arm and punched the tree as hard as he could. He left his fist there for a moment absorbing all the tree had to give him gritting his teeth at the impact; slowly he pulled back revealing a small dent in the tree and scrapes sticking through his fur, small patches of red now staining his fur.

 

“Do you know what I felt like when I saw all of you lying on the ground?” Kennen turned around with a shaky voice and tears falling out of his eyes. “DO YOU!”

 

No response.

 

“At that moment I wanted to die!” Kennen said slowly. “I wanted to die so I could be with you, thinking I just killed you! But when I pressed my hand upon your heart, Teemo’s heart, my storm ended and stars began to show again!” Kennen walked back over to the fireplace throwing himself on to the ground, covering his eyes with his palms. Throughout everyone else, who had just witnessed one of the biggest outbreaks Kennen had ever had, all had one feeling in common. Guilt.

 

“What’s going on?” a newly awakened voice asked. Garen, Teemo, and Tristana looked over to see Lux sitting up, rubbing her eyes waking herself from her sleep. She removed her hands to find Tristana holding her palm out to her. Confused, she looked around noticing her friends and brother to be deep engulfed with guilt. She then looked over towards Kennen, the yordle unknown to her, sobbing on the ground.

 

“Who’s he?” Lux asked quietly. Tristana kept her hand raised towards her, signalling her to stand down.

 

“Is someone going to help him?” Lux asked now a bit louder, surprising Kennen by her boldness. If only she knew what had happened between them before. Lux looked between them, finding herself disheartened when she didn’t get a response. She looked over at Kennen, heartbroken seeing him crying.

 

“Guys! Please!” she pleaded. Still no response. Kennen sat up, tears welling in his eyes as he curled himself into a ball. Lux stared at him, broken by his sadness and the willingness of her friends. Lux’s hair blew in the wind, feeling a light sprinkle of water fall upon her. She looked up into the starry night, finding no clouds above her but still a small sprinkle of water dotted her face. She looked at the others, also noticing it looking up towards the sky. The only ones who knew what was happening was Teemo and now Lux, as she felt his pain.

 

Tears of the Tempest.

 

Through the tears, Lux stood on her two feet. Unlike the others she was steady, not wobbling as her emotions took over her wanting to make a difference. Standing straight she turned herself towards Kennen. Slowly she took the first step toward him, crunching the grass beneath her feet. With every step she could feel the air around her changing, feeling more cold, more heavy. She observed aspect of him, his silky ninja garb, the golden lacing, his pointy ears, eventually getting close enough to see his bloodshot chocolate eyes along with the dried up remains of the trail of tears below his eyes. She knelt down next to him, giving him a look of concern and feeling. Kennen didn’t look at her.

 

“Hi.” Lux started, sounding soft and comfortable towards him. “What’s your name?” she asked. No response came, however she could feel the atmosphere around her become ever so warmer.

 

“My name’s Lux.” she said after a while of silence. “I’m Garen’s sister.”

 

Once again, no response.

 

“I know how you’re feeling.” Lux said. This got his attention; he turned his head to look at her. The same attraction caught him, the same one that caught everyone else. Just like them he became entranced in her eyes, the beauty and the promise in them. The light.

 

“I know that you know.” he said finally. “You look like the person who would know, however I can tell that unlike me your life has been recently filled up with joy.” he hung his head back down in shame. However his body became warm when he felt Lux’s hand on his back comforting him.

 

“Whatever that has happened between you and them,” she motioned her head towards Teemo and Tristana, both of which were listening intently. “I’m sure that we can fix it.”

 

“It’s not fixable,” Kennen clarified “and you wouldn’t be able to help. It’s between me and Teemo.”

 

“I’m sure it is, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t be your friend.” Lux said. Kennen turned his head back to hers regaining the sight of her eyes, reminding himself of the life, joy, and happiness in the world. Kennen couldn’t help but smile at her words, the meaning it was to him to gain a new friend in a time of need.

 

“I’m Kennen.” he told Lux.

 

“Kennen. That’s a beautiful name.” Lux said smiling. Kennen blushed, now smiling a little bit too hard at her kindness. Suddenly, a look of question glanced over Lux’s face.

 

“What’s with the ninja outfit?” she asked childishly.

 

“What do you think?” Kennen asked back, leaving Lux with a proud smile on her face. “I’m part of the Kinkou Order.”

 

“The Kinkou?” Garen now said surprised. The Kinkou was an ancient clan originating in Ionia, its soul purpose was to preserve the balance of nature. They were the bodyguards, the saviors, the reason why everything in Valoran existed in harmony.

 

“Yes.” Kennen said, now turning to face the rest of them. His eyes weren’t red anymore and the tears before evaporated.

 

“Where are the others?” Garen asked, maybe a little bit too bluntly.

 

“Yeah, where are Shen and Akali? Aren’t they supposed to be with you?” Teemo now spoke up.

 

“They were. Until something very unexpected came up.” Kennen said, now sounding a little bit uncomfortable but reassured by Lux’s presence.

 

“What do you mean?” Tristana asked.

 

“We encountered something that… we’ve never seen before. We ended up getting separated. This was about a week ago.” he trailed off “But it’s a long subject. I will tell you about it later. For now you should get some rest. We can talk tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

_Day 6_

 

It was commanding. The way they took the lead immediately after they had woke up, the way that they planned, their communication towards each other and everyone else. It was if it was not only a mission for Teemo anymore, but also for Kennen. They were both similar but different, making for interesting interactions with each other. Both of them were commanding, Teemo definitely more serious now after last night than before. The meeting with Kennen had set Teemo in a different mood. Every time they talked it seemed like a normal conversation, but there was a connection between them that made their conversations special. The way both of them were cautious of what to say to the other, the way that they looked at each other, the way they walked side by side in the lead.

 

There was no clear path in which they were walking in. Actually they were walking aimlessly, not really knowing why or where they were walking. It was all of a sudden that they were to head out from the shade of the giant tree. As they were wavering between the trees they kept a steady pace, however the trek was quiet. The only things audible were their footsteps and the small breeze in the air, softly rattling the leaves of the normal trees around them. Teemo and Kennen kept a strict lead in the front, both walking side by side. Behind them were Tristana, Lux and Garen. Lux looking over noticed Tristana having a nervous look on her face just from looking at the two in the front. They were like two army captains leading a cavalry into battle. Their heads were both held high, position upright, and walking with confidence. Their arms close were together, but not both of them cautious of not touching their arms together. But the feeling was there, the certain feeling, the certain temptation. After a long while of no talking, Lux leaned over to Tristana.

 

“What’s with it with them?” Lux whispered to her while walking. Kennen’s ear perked up a bit. Tristana noticed.

 

“Shh!” Tristana said urgently. “He’s a ninja, remember!” she said worryingly.

 

Lux looked at her with a confused expression on her face before realizing what she meant.

 

“He’s a ninja, of course. He can hear anything, right?” Lux thought sarcastically to herself.

 

The fact that this yordle was a ninja surprised Lux, but the emotions that he displayed last night caught Lux’s attention greatly. Since then she has taken great interest in Kennen, and still had so many questions to ask him. Even though it has been two days since she has met Teemo and Tristana, less for Kennen, Lux felt for them. She felt their emotions whether they be right or not for their reason. Lux looked back in front of her, continuing to see Teemo walking steadily.

 

Teemo?

 

“Woah.” Lux exclaimed as she bumped into something in front of her. She recoiled a bit, almost tripping over the standing figure of Kennen who had stopped walking. He was just standing there, looking in front of him, looking at Teemo.

 

“Sorry Kennen.” Lux apologized.

 

“It’s fine.” Kennen said quietly. Teemo, hearing the commotion, turned around, locking eyes with Kennen whom he had just noticed looking at him.

 

“Kennen, are you ok?” Teemo asked.

 

The look of nervousness in Kennen’s face scared Teemo, knowing what he was about to do. Kennen took a deep breath and stepped forward.

 

“Teemo, can I speak with you… alone for a while.” Kennen said slowly.

 

Teemo looked at Kennen and didn’t respond. Only looked into his eyes and feeling the wind rustle the leaves around them. The sun just peaked over Kennen’s face, leaving a shadow behind him and his face fully visible to him. Strength, courage. That was what it took to ask, and that it what he saw when he looked at him.

 

Slowly, Teemo began to nod.

 

“Yeah…” Teemo said slowly.

 

Kennen nodded. They both turned and started their way off into the forest, leaving Tristana, Garen, and Lux to wait. Lux watched as the silhouettes of Teemo and Kennen disappeared between the trees.

 

“Holy crap!” Tristana exclaimed after they were gone. She turned to Garen and Lux. “You have no idea how stressful this is for me.”

 

“I may have an idea if you tell us what’s going on.” Garen said, becoming impatient that they had avoided the question before sometime. Tristana looked between them, then slowly regained her composure.

 

“Ok.” she said finally. “I guess it’s time for me to tell you the story of Teemo and Kennen.”

 

* * *

 

 

The sun made the day beautiful, fully enveloping the forest around them. It made everything brighter, calmer, and warmer. Although it was a pretty dense forest, Teemo and Kennen had managed to to find a field in the middle of the forest right over the sun. The bright patch of solid green grass made this the perfect location for this moment.

 

Kennen trailed a bit behind Teemo as they entered the field. Both of their faces showed no emotion, only serious thoughts on their minds as they crossed paths. There was one flower that bloomed in the middle of the field. A red flower, pretty in the sunlight but alone. Teemo knelt down next to the flower, observing it. A flower that was meant for a bouquet shined in Teemo’s eyes. The grace entailed in it, the beauty. Teemo gripped the stem of it and gently pulled it from the ground, leaving it limp in his hand. He stood up, holding the flower like a dead body, then released his grip with his left hand, grasping it with his right hand as he let his hand fall to his side. Kennen was observing this and also noticed the flower and felt the same thing that Teemo did. Calmly, he took a step forward, noticing Teemo move slightly at his movement.

 

“Teemo, I’m -” Kennen began.

 

However his sentence was cut off when quickly and instinctively Teemo turned around and surprised Kennen by slipping his arms around his shoulders, pulling Kennen closer to him. Before Kennen knew it, his face was over Teemo’s shoulder and Teemo’s head was resting on his shoulder. Teemo embraced him.

 

“Can you shutup and let me savor this one moment we have alone together.” Teemo said quietly, voice almost quivering at the moment. Kennen took reaction to this, favoring Teemo’s wishes. He closed his eyes and let the time go as slowly as he could, allowing both him and Teemo to grasp the moment. Without noticing it himself, Kennen wrapped his arms around Teemo’s waist, now both yordles hugging each other. It was affectionate, both of them leaning into it a bit. Not because they were forced to, but because they wanted to, they wanted a moment like this. A moment where they could be alone, away from the others, to finally comprehend each other. After what seemed like an hour Teemo pulled away, still grasping his shoulders. They looked into each others eyes, both wide, Teemo’s eyes pooled tears.

 

“Come Kennen. We have so much to talk about.”

  
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 6: Together...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships and bondings. Big character development and backstory.

“Is her rocket really that powerful?”

 

“Yeah! It made me fly back like ten feet! It was crazy.”

 

It was a hot day. The sun had made its presence ever more clear the more the day went on. However, it had not been long since Kennen and Teemo had found this field. They could watch birds playing across the field, catch the sight of animals running through the grass or stop and wonder at what could’ve killed the flower that was at home in the middle of the field. It wasn’t exactly a luxury resort. Yes, all the sunlight a plant could need, but if rain ever came it would drown out. The stem was cut right at its base, making them laugh whenever an animal came up to sniff it. Who knows, maybe they were once the plant’s friends. The tie between them was cut off just like that, making them know that the margin between life and death, happiness and sorrow, love and hate was very thin. It didn’t have to be sharp physically either. All it took were the right words and in a moment everything that has happened up to that moment would be gone.

 

Teemo still clutched the flower in his hand, making sure to not lose grasp of it. After him and Kennen’s embrace, they didn’t have to look far to find proper shade amongst the trees. They were surrounded by them! It just happened to be the closest one to them, the small tree that stocked small fruits within it.  Malas; small, spherical red fruits. Rich and juicy with the small chance of a worm being inside one. In that case Teemo threw the fruit as hard as he could in disgust. Most of the time, he would hit the same tree over and over again, making Kennen feel bad for the families of animals and insects that were being bombarded by the constant shreds of malas. It didn’t stop them from eating though, it was a good fruit. Both Teemo and Kennen were sitting against the tree side by side, Teemo picking the fruit for both of them as they hanged out in the shade. It has been friendly conversation the entire time, each of them telling each other funny stories from the time that they had been separated… so far.

 

“Are you sure that her rocket’s just that strong?” Kennen questioned again. He took a bite of his mala as he looked over at Teemo. He had his hands behind his head supporting him as he leaned back casually against the tree.

 

“What do you mean?” Teemo said confused. He had just answered this question.

 

“I mean, are you sure it’s her rocket, or did you just get weaker since the last I saw you.” Kennen joked, smirking.

 

“Shutup.” Teemo said laughing a bit at his joke. “And I’m betting my shrooms didn’t help much for you either.” Teemo rebutted with his own joke, motioning his view towards Kennen’s stomach letting him know what he meant.

 

“Hey! The last time I had those shrooms was last night!” Kennen said quickly. “And damn you taught me a good recipe.”

 

“Have I now?” Teemo looked at Kennen interested.

 

“Yup.” Kennen responded, swallowing his food. He looked down at the fruit, throwing it aside knowing it was practically gone. It was slow, but he felt a feeling of guilt wash over him. His facial expression showed this. Teemo noticed.

 

“What’s wrong Kennen?” Teemo asked.

 

“Well…” he paused. “Now that I think about it, I never actually taught you anything, have I?” Kennen looked at Teemo.

 

“You taught me about you. Everything about you actually.” Teemo pointed out. Kennen didn’t take the comfort. It was true, Kennen never really did teach Teemo anything. Suddenly an idea popped into Kennen’s head. From underneath his garb he pulled out a small satchel bag. From within it he pulled out his signature weapon. A shuriken. A small, four-sided yellow shuriken. He let Teemo hold the satchel while Kennen observed the shuriken. Inside the satchel, Teemo noticed many more shurikens, along with kunai that he would use once in a while. Kennen fiddled with the shuriken for a while, flipping it over in his hands observing it. The fine sharp points all of which had the power to kill any living thing. After some time, Kennen’s gaze settled down on the tree in front of them, the one Teemo was throwing the fruit at before. Carefully, he pulled the shuriken up above his ear, and swiftly threw it. The shuriken glided through the air, splitting the atmosphere before lodging itself in the tree in front of them.

 

“Let’s see if this is better for you.” Kennen said, grabbing the satchel back from Teemo, pulling out another as he set it to his side. This time he held the shuriken out to Teemo. Teemo looked at it for a while, then looked back at Kennen.

 

“You can’t be serious right?” Teemo asked.

 

“Well you can’t handle Tristana’s rocket,” Kennen pointed out causing Teemo to roll his eyes, “Let’s see if you can handle my shuriken.” he said, gesturing for Teemo to take it.

 

“Heh.” Teemo let out a small laugh, looking into Kennen’s eyes as he recklessly took it from him, almost cutting himself in the process. He observed it for a while, flipping the shuriken over in his hands. It was heavier than Teemo expected, thicker as well. It weighed down his hand slightly when he caught grasp on it. From the center the shuriken became symmetrically slimmer the farther down it went on all four sides, leaving at the end of each side a very sharp tip. He looked back up at Kennen, smiling and looking at him anxiously waiting for his attempt. Teemo nodded at him and looked in front of him. His goal was the tree, the same tree that they had thrown everything at before. He inhaled, taking a deep breath as he lowered his right hand towards his waist. He twisted the shuriken around in his hand, finding himself a comfortable grip. Teemo knew he still had to take the same factors into account as if he was shooting his blowdart. The wind, which was now only a small breeze blowing his fur lightly to the left. Slowly, he exhaled letting his arm eject from his side throwing the shuriken into the air. He watched nervously as it spun in grace in the air, but staggered mentally when it came no where near close to the tree at all. It was entirely to the left, it would’ve also been low. The shuriken lay on the left of the tree but still in front of it.

 

“Haha!” Kennen laughed. Teemo looked over embarrassed at his performance to see Kennen holding his sides preventing himself from toppling over from the laughter. Everything about him was so cheerful in the moment, both his eyes and mouth smiling from his enjoyment. Not to say that these features weren’t here before.

 

“Hey!” Teemo exclaimed, not in anger but partially laughing with him. “Don’t blame me! I’ve never thrown one of those things before! I would like to see you using my blowdart without swallowing the dart in the process!”

 

“No.” Kennen replied, still laughing. “I’m fine.” Kennen looked back at Teemo after his laughing spree, noticing him to have his head held down trying to contain his blush which one could clearly see through his fur. Suddenly Kennen felt bad.

 

“Hey come on.” Kennen said, putting his hand on Teemo’s back. “It wasn’t that bad for your first time.”

 

“I know it wasn’t.” Teemo replied sitting up again. He reached over Kennen to grab the satchel  again, taking out another shuriken. It looked the exact same as the last.

 

“Must have taken you years of practice to perfect using these.” Teemo noted. “I know I’m never going to be as good as you when using one.”

 

“Oh Teemo, of course not!” Kennen said, chuckling a bit. “Just like I’m never going to be as good as you when using a blowdart gun or cooking.” He looked at Teemo, honesty in his eyes. “Honestly Teemo, you are one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.”

 

“Really now?” Teemo questioned in surprise.

 

“Yeah!” Kennen insisted.

 

Teemo sat there in silence for a while looking in to Kennen’s deep eyes while flipping the shuriken over repeatedly in his hands. A small smile trickled over Teemo’s lips, leading himself to a small chuckle.

 

“Have you looked at yourself lately?” Teemo asked. Kennen took the question by surprise.

 

“Only recently,” Kennen stated, looking down. “When I recalled a prior… event that happened.” Kennen said quietly. Teemo stared at him for a long time before looking down as well, knowing what Kennen was referring to. They both sat there for a while not saying anything, but they could both feel the tension rise between the two. By now, Teemo stopped flipping the shuriken in his hand. It lay there in his hand, finger slowly tracing the edge of it, while in his other hand he could feel his hand tighten over the stem of the flower.

 

“I’m saying this because” Teemo began slowly “last time I’ve checked I can’t summon lightning on will.”

 

“Who says that it comes naturally?” Kennen rebutled. This left Teemo silent. “Everything that we do takes time to perfect. Me and you are different… but similar in many ways. We’ve both killed before to protect others, we’ve both fought for something dear to each other… we’ve both loved before.” Kennen said the last part hesitantly as Teemo looked up back at him. Kennen, feeling his gaze, locked eyes with him quickly before darting his glance down to Teemo’s hand holding the shuriken. Swiftly Kennen’s hand glided over Teemo’s, landing softly on his. He gripped his hand the same way Teemo had gripped the shuriken, holding his hand firmly on Teemo’s.

 

“Like throwing shuriken isn’t natural to you, however this moment is natural to me.” Kennen mixed his words, Teemo not quite catching his words. Kennen sighed lightly. “Here.”

 

Kennen moved his other hand now, bringing it over his body to make contact with Teemo’s hand. Both adjusted themselves through Teemo’s warm fur to reposition the way he was gripping it. Teemo had not expected the way Kennen showed him to grip it, leaving him a bit uncomfortable at its positioning. The shuriken was located between his index finger and his middle finger, index on top, middle finger on bottom.

 

“There.” Kennen said lightly, still holding Teemo’s hand. “It will be easier to slip from your hand but it will prevent the temptation to throw it high or low.” he clarified. His now focus now shifted to his wrist. Nothing was wrong there, but with his wrist Kennen demonstrated where to throw it from. Slowly, he moved Teemo’s wrist above his neck, crossing his arm across his body, lining it up with his eyes. He tilted his hand a little upwards, giving the shuriken leverage.

 

“Line your hand up with your eyes so when you throw” Kennen said as he suddenly jerked Teemo’s hand out, throwing it across the field. When it landed, it landed perfectly in a straight line with him. “You know where it’s going to land in front of you.”

 

Kennen released Teemo’s hand finally, Teemo’s hand still hovering in the air where Kennen left it. He left it there for a moment, not feeling anything before letting it fall down on his leg. He looked at Kennen, who was now smiling at Teemo giving him a small nod. Kennen reached down in his satchel for a third time, pulling out another shuriken. This time he placed it in Teemo’s hand for him. Teemo stared at Kennen, noting his kindness, reminding him of the Kennen he knew long ago when they still saw each other almost every day as friends. Teemo couldn’t help but smile at him.

 

“Well, go ahead!” Kennen gestured, giving a small laugh. Teemo nodded, looking in front of him now. Breathing the same way as before, he inhaled, chambering his hand. He made sure to hold the shuriken properly this time as he brought it up to the side of his head. He narrowed his eyes looking at the tree in front of him. Exhaling, he lets his arm glide fluently over the breaking air that caused him to release his grip from the shuriken. He observed the area in front of himself, noticing the slim object glide farther away from him. His smile widened when it impaled itself into the tree, just below Kennen’s. The two shuriken were less than an inch apart from each other.

 

“Yes!” Teemo blurted out unconsciously , covering his mouth afterwards. He looked over at Kennen who had a wide smile on his face. Teemo couldn’t help but blush under his fur, releasing a small giggle that made his hand slide just low enough where Kennen could see the crest of his elated smile. Kennen couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit himself.

 

“Great job!” Kennen congratulated, giving him a quick thumbs up. Teemo slid his hand off his face, revealing his full smile.

 

“Thanks.” Teemo replied.

 

For a moment they just stared at each other, both pondering on what to say next. The air was flowing briskly now, the light fur on Teemo and Kennen both swaying in it. It only took a seconds notice for both of them to realize that they were staring at each other. Simultaneously they both blushed and looked away from each other, Teemo looking forward and Kennen looking down in his lap. Again, Kennen took out a shuriken and handed it to Teemo.

 

“You can do whatever you want with it.” Kennen said a bit ominously. Teemo looked perplexed but didn’t refuse Kennen. He took the shuriken and flipped it in his hand. He looked at Kennen, worry in his eyes.

 

“What does that mean?” Teemo asked sounding worried.

 

“You can mess around with it, practice if you want.” Kennen said. “I’m not going to be using them any time now.” he hung his head back down. Teemo looked at him confused but didn’t say anything.

 

By now it has been about an hour since they had left the others. Both of them had wondered what they had been doing, but had given up very shortly in. What mattered right now is that both of them have time together. The sun had now cast a shadow upon their faces. From afar, no one could tell who they are. The shade from the tree was just enough to keep them cool in the sun. The tree in front of them was much taller in its own right with the fact that shurikens now held some of its weight. With the wind blowing as it is the tempest couldn’t tell what was affecting it, nature or him. The air almost seemed to become… visible in front of them, falling towards the ground. Kennen looked up now to find a leaf from the tree in front of them begin to fall from the sky. Slowly it glided itself down, eventually coming across the shuriken in the tree. It seemed peaceful, gliding in front of Kennen’s shuriken with easy. Teemo’s shuriken seemed innocent as the leaf tried to glide past it.

 

Then the leaf split in half.

 

“Have I ever told you what happened to my family Ken?” Teemo asked suddenly, catching Kennen off guard by using his nickname. Kennen immediately tensed up, as he knew whenever he used that name it was going to be serious. He looked up at Teemo to find him holding the flower up in Kennen’s sight, five petals flowing on it.

 

“No.” Kennen answered softly. “Why? What happened to them?” Teemo turned his entire body towards Kennen holding the flower up his eyes looking at him from both sides of the stem. He gestured Kennen to the flower then lowered it slightly. Taking a deep breath, Teemo started.

 

“My mother died giving birth to me.” Teemo said, his voice quivering at the memories. Kennen immediately became more attentive than he already was. Slowly Teemo brought his other hand up and plucked one petal off the flower.

 

“My dad always told me that she was a great person. He told me that my mother was part of a medical unit for the army, that she saved many lives on the battlefield. He told me that she was proud to bring life into this world, proud to give birth to me.” Kennen felt his heart race ever so faster the more Teemo talked, feeling his emotion. Teemo was beginning to overflow with emotions. Looking at Teemo, Kennen could realize his eyes were attempting to hold back incoming tears.

 

“My dad wasn’t there on my sixth birthday. The next day I found out that he died that day. His best friend stabbed him in the back on a camping trip, paranoid saying that he was a better soldier than him, that he deserved the rank of captain more than him.” Teemo couldn’t help but let a tear slip through when he pulled another petal off the flower.

 

“With no parents, my older brother had to take care of us. We basically grew up together, he was the only person I would talk to back then besides Tristana. When we were both old enough, we both joined the army.” Teemo took a deep breath, recuperating himself.

 

“We were only privates in the army when I saw him die right before my eyes.” Teemo said, studdering. “It was during the Bandle City - Noxus conflict a long time ago; an assassin slit his throat right before me. I - I…” Teemo trailed off, his voice becoming choked up in tears.

 

“Hey, hey…” Kennen said quickly, reaching his arm out to pull him closer. He put his arms around his shoulder, pulling Teemo against him. Teemo leaned his head on his shoulders.

 

“It’s ok Teemo, it’s ok.” Kennen comforted. He felt Teemo nod on his shoulder and raised his head up again, his eyes a bit strained from his crying.

 

“I avenged him though. I killed him right then and there. Stabbed him multiple times, call it overkill, through my tears and his blood on my face. My comrades were awestruck at seeing me, but I couldn’t help it.” Teemo plucked the third petal off.

 

“And then all that was left was me and my sister.” Teemo said. “My sister watched me grow. She watched me become a captain. She watched me take down Veigar and save the Mothership. She was a simple mom with two children and a happy husband, like my parents were. She was so innocent, so loving, so caring for others.” Once again, Teemo took another breath before continuing.

 

“Sadly, I had to watch her slowly die as well.” He choked up again saying it. “She came down with some… disease that is not curable. Slowly she became more and more sick, and I had to see her face become more and more pale every day until the day where I walked in with a hand full of flowers to see her body covered with a blanket.” Shaking, he pulled off the fourth petal. Kennen pulled Teemo closer to him, attempting to comfort him as much as he could. Kennen could feel the emotion that Teemo was feeling just by being near him. Teemo turned his eyes towards Kennen’s, noticing the emotion in his eyes hearing the story. Teemo shifted himself so that now he wasn’t so locked in Kennen’s arm, making himself sit up looking at Kennen. This time he held the flower up so that Kennen could clearly see it.

 

“And then a week later…” Teemo began, voice becoming more solid. He pulled off the fifth and last petal with a quick yank, leaving the stem bare. This time, he let go of the stem, holding the petal up in front of Kennen.

 

“You broke me.”

 

And with that he let go of the petal, letting it flow away in the wind.

 

Kennen’s ear twitched at him bringing about the subject. Teemo observed Kennen’s face as it began to quickly wash over with sorrow. Kennen’s shoulders slumped against Teemo’s as he slowly became more uncomfortable at being near him, however Kennen knew that being away from him would pain himself even more. For a while the two said nothing, both sitting there letting their feelings take over them. The air became more tense around them.

 

“Teemo… I-I’m”

 

“I already know you’re sorry Ken.” Teemo said sternly, looking fiercely at Kennen. “What I want to know is why?” Teemo was becoming angry just thinking about it. Kennen didn’t respond.

 

“Ken, out of nowhere you disappeared, you left me. I need to know why?”

 

“Hmph.” Kennen let out a small smirk, leaving Teemo with a face more angry than the last just hearing Kennen laugh about the serious question. Kennen noticed Teemo’s disdain at him, not realizing the reaction he would get.

 

“The responsibilities of being a ninja suck sometimes.” Kennen said, catching Teemo off guard. Teemo looked at him wondering what he meant.

 

“What do you mean?” Teemo asked shortly after. Kennen took a deep breath and began.

 

“Look, what happened that day. That was probably the hardest thing that I have ever had to do, leave you like that. The worst part that it was entirely my fault.” Now Kennen became shaky, remembering that day.

 

“It all started after my first day… with you. I went back to our home, where I lived with Shen and Akali before. They noticed me come home much happier than before. For the days after that they noticed that I kept acting happy because you made me happy whenever I was with you. They would ask me questions, asking me what happened to make me so happy. I just kept telling them that it was personal. Soon they eventually became suspicious. They always kept this rule where that “us” ninjas need to refrain from social relationships or else it would affect our work. Well, one day I slipped. I came back one day, being probably the most happy I’ve ever been in my life, and sat down to eat dinner when it just slipped. “I kissed Teemo.” You should’ve seen the reaction on their faces though, they were both practically choking on their food. After that they set restrictions for me… that’s why I couldn’t stay out as long as before, why I was nervous to talk to you sometimes. Then they saw that it eventually affected my work, I would spend training thinking about you instead of focusing on the training. That was the time where Akali and Shen had enough.”

 

Teemo had been taking in the story, slowly beginning to understand what was going on. However he didn’t expect the next part.

 

“They wanted me to… personally leave you. They felt that if I admitted to you that I was leaving you I would feel much better about the situation. So I… made the promise with you… that I would always protect you and you would always protect me. So to protect you, I left you.”

 

For a moment, Teemo stayed awestruck at the truth, stunned by his actions.

 

“Ken.” Teemo said softly, raising his hand to grab his. He locked eyes with him.

 

“That makes no fucking sense.”

 

“DAMMIT I know it didn’t.” Kennen yelled, throwing his hands up in frustration. He took a moment to regain his composure.

 

“I needed a reason… a personal reason… to leave you that night. I thought I could protect you by saving you from me. I.. I” His voice trailed off, leaving him in an emotion pit of anger and tears. Teemo watched as he scrambled to find his words, Kennen’s palm now shaking in his.

 

“Kennen, save me from what about you?” Teemo asked. Kennen now straightened up a bit, able to look into Teemo’s eyes.

 

“To be honest I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking that night. All I knew was that… I couldn’t stay… because of Akali and Shen.” Kennen ended. They stayed silent for a while, letting the information set in.

 

“Well screw them then.” Teemo said, receiving a small chuckle from Kennen.

 

“Yeah.” Kennen replied slowly. “You know that they’re good people though.”

 

“I know. You’ve been with them forever.” Teemo said, turning to Kennen. “They are not your parents though. They can’t tell you what to do.”

 

“Well what else am I supposed to do? Leave them?” Kennen said a bit loudly.

 

“No. Step up for yourself. That’s what I’m saying. You can’t let them control you.” Teemo clarified. This didn’t really help Kennen.

 

“And then what? They won’t want me anymore. They will know that my feelings would get in the way of my work! Then they -”

 

“Ken.” Teemo interrupted, bringing his hand up to his face, turning it to meet his eyes.

 

“I forgive you.”

 

Kennen’s body turned as solid as stone hearing those words. Looking into Teemo’s eyes he knew that he meant it.

 

“I - You…” Kennen stuttered, his voice shocked.

 

“I understand what you had to do.” Teemo said sternly. He took a moment to look Kennen deep in the eyes, past the pool of tears that were still there. After a while he turned, looking back out in the field.

 

“We should head back, it’s getting late.” Teemo said deeply. He stood himself up, wiping the dirt off of himself and began walking. Kennen was still shocked, still sitting there eventually turning himself towards the walking Teemo. He stood up just as he was about to walk through the trees.

 

“I’m shooting that rocket!” Kennen called out. This stopped Teemo in his tracks, causing to turn around with a smirk on his face.

 

“What? You think that you’ll do better?” Teemo challenged.

 

“Hmph.” Kennen let out a small bit of laughter, strutting over towards Teemo.

 

“We’ll see.” Kennen said as he was passing Teemo, leaving Teemo behind him now. He could hear Teemo’s soft laughter behind him. Eventually Teemo turned, walking back with Kennen.

 

* * *

 

 

_(Meanwhile)_

 

Tristana had been looking at dark faces the entire time, the sun casting a great shadow over the other two. By now the time had reached evening, leaving Tristana to wonder where the other two went. Right now the only thing she could focus on is the awestruck faces of Garen and Lux, their jaws practically hitting the floor.

 

“Wait, so they’re -”

 

“Yep.” Tristana said, cutting Garen off mid-sentence.

 

“And they were -”

 

“Mhm.” Tristana nodded, cutting Lux off as well.

 

“Wow…” Garen exclaimed. Tristana looked over at him now knowing that he would need plenty of time to comprehend the information.

 

“That’s so cool!” Lux said, maybe a bit too loudly. Garen and Tristana both looked at her, skipping around in circles before stopping to look at their confused expressions.

 

“What?” Lux asked. None of them responded. Through the wind, they could hear the sudden crack of a fallen tree branch. All of them turned attention to where it came from to see Kennen and Teemo return, their faces not really showing any emotion.

 

“Where have you to been!?” Tristana said, sounding like a mother now.

 

“Long story, not enough time.” Kennen said a bit anxiously. Tristana ended up with a confused look on her face, not noticing Kennen walk over and grab her rocket. By the time she noticed, Kennen had already loaded the thing.

 

“And what do you think you’re doing?” Tristana said, a bit aggravated. She began walking over towards Kennen to stop him to be stopped herself by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Teemo stopping her but noticing him holding back a hysterical laughter.

 

“Don’t worry Tristana. This will only take a second.” Kennen said playfully as he slung the strap on his shoulders, giving himself better handling. He adjusted the rocket slowly, his arms struggling under the weight of it. It took him a while to finally get the rocket adjusted so that it was comfortable.

 

“Don’t worry everyone. I got this.” Kennen said playfully again. Almost as quick as he said that he pulled the trigger, ringing the air of the big boom sound that came out of it. Birds quickly departed their homes above to flee from the noise. Simultaneously however, the area that Kennen had been standing in had become quickly replaced by dirt and dust that was roaming around the outline of where Kennen used to be. Kennen on the other hand slid back with such force that dirt kicked up beneath him, leaving a line of dirt in the path that Kennen slid. His back collided with a tree that thankfully stopped him from tumbling over. Teemo bursted out laughing, Tristana was very aggravated now, and Garen and Lux were confused.

 

“Well…” Kennen said, regaining himself. He put the rocket down carefully at his side, gesturing his hands at it so that it didn’t move. He turned himself around to look at Teemo, a wide smile in his eyes.

 

“Guess it wasn’t just you then.” Kennen clarified. This sent Teemo into another burst of laughter, his face stained red. Tristana on the other hand did not look so happy.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” Tristana said angrily, walking over towards Kennen looking like she was about to punch him.

 

“Hey! It was his idea!” Kennen pointed at Teemo, raising his hands up in defense.

 

“Oh yeah! Because you wanting to prove that you could shoot better than me is totally my idea!” Teemo said in defense, still laughing.

 

“Shutup! Both of you!” Tristana yelled, leaving both Kennen and Teemo giggling like little children. Tristana went over to her rocket and picked it up. She held it close to her so that no one else would get their hands on it. She turned around to see Teemo and Kennen laughing away. Sighing, she shook her head, looking over in despair at Garen and Lux.

 

“See what I had to put up with every day!” She said sarcastically, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “I had to put up with these morons!” She gained a small chuckle from Lux. Kennen stopped laughing now, turning to Tristana.

 

“Wait, so did you tell them?” Kennen asked from the last sentence.

 

“Oh… yeah.” Tristana said nervously, not knowing if she wanted them to know or not. “I’m sorry.”

 

It’s fine Trist.” Teemo reassured. “They were going to find out either way.”

 

“I’m fine with it.” Lux approved, gaining the look of Teemo and Kennen. “I think what you two have here is special.” She said pointing her fingers between the two, making Kennen blush a little.

 

“Well, it’s getting dark already.” Teemo said, looking up at the dim lighted sky. “We should just set up camp here.”

 

“You guys get that started. I have to talk to Kennen real quick.” Tristana said, turning to the now nervous Kennen. A hint of sweat began at his forehead.

 

“Ok then…” Teemo said, looking at Kennen worried. He gave a quick nod reassuring him. Kennen looked at Tristana, she wore a facial expression which he could not identify. As if she knew Kennen was going to follow him, she turned and walked off, him walking slowly behind her. They didn’t go far, the rest were still in view from where they were. Going behind a small tree, Tristana turned to see that Kennen was still right behind her. She sighed, leaning up against the tree.

 

“I’m guessing that you’re mad at me still?” Kennen asked.

 

“No, not anymore.” Tristana said. She looked over at Kennen who had a slightly surprised but questioning look on his face. She sighed again. “Ok, maybe a little bit.” Tristana clarified.

 

“You should be. What I did to him I can never forgive myself for.” Kennen said sadly. Tristana went up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

 

“Kennen, you’re a good person. You are the nicest, sweetest, and funniest person that I’ve ever met.” Tristana said caringly. This made Kennen feel better about himself, blushing a bit.

 

“Thank you.” Kennen said. Tristana removed her hand, leaving Kennen with the sense of Tristana’s hand on his shoulder, missing the comfort a little. Tristana went back to leaning on the tree, looking down on the ground kicking around a small rock.

 

“You came to me that day didn’t you?” Kennen asked, leaving Tristana slightly surprised. At first she looked confused, but then picked up on what he was referring to.

 

“No, I looked for you.” Tristana responded. “I actually didn’t expect to find you, but there you were.”

 

“For the record, I did call out to you, or else you would’ve walked right by me.” Kennen pointed out.

 

“You were sitting in the tree… nevermind.” Tristana said, shaking her head to get back on topic. “Anyways, Teemo told me what happened that night after you left. He said that he had no idea why you left and no idea where you went.” She turned her gaze to Kennen now.

 

“But you told me that day everything that happened that night. You told me why you did it, you told me how you did it, and you told me how painstaking it was for you to leave him.” Tristana said, her expression becoming more serious as she said each word.

 

“But why tell me? Out of everyone you tell me over Teemo?” Tristana said questioning him.

 

“Because I was scared.” Kennen said bluntly, catching Tristana off guard a bit. “I was scared of what Teemo might think of me back then if I told him. I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t love him still.” Kennen looked Tristana in the eyes. “You were the only person that I knew to trust back then. I knew that if I told you, you would understand.”

 

“And I did understand. But you can’t even tell Teemo what happened!?” Tristana said.

 

“I just did.” Kennen clarified. “When we left just now I told him everything.”

 

“Oh.” Tristana said. “Well good for you.” She seemed more cheery, however it was all an act. She walked up face to face with Kennen.

 

“However, if you ever do that to Teemo again, I will make sure that this rocket blows up in your hand the next time you shoot it.” Tristana threatened, making Kennen gulp a bit. She gave him a death stare, practically pushing Kennen. She was serious.

 

“Y-Yes.” Kennen managed to say, stuttering in between. Tristana stared for a moment longer before turning and walking away. Kennen stayed standing in the same spot for a while after, thinking of the talk he just had and wiping the sweat off his forehead. Finally he braved up, turning around to find that the camp was already set up.

 

It didn’t take long to reach night time. The sun dimmed through the shade of the leaves; by the time it hit night the area around them was completely black except for the light from the camp fire. It was completely silent aside from the crackling fire and the noisy crickets. It seemed like everyone was wiped out, too. Teemo and Tristana had both fallen asleep a lot earlier than they normally slept and Kennen was sprawled out in his blanket snoring. The only two awake were Garen and Lux, both also preparing to go to bed as well.

 

“Psst! Garen!” Lux whispered over quietly, trying not to wake the others. She was flat inside of a sleeping bag next to Garen.

 

“What?” Garen said lazily.

 

“What do you think of them?” Lux asked, gesturing over towards Teemo and Kennen who were both sleeping apart from each other. “Personally.”

 

“Personally?” Garen said. Lux nodded, giving Garen a moment to think. “Well so far they look good together.”

 

“Is this what relationships are normally like?” Lux asked, leaving Garen without a word to say. He wasn’t prepared for this question.

 

“No.” Garen answered, but quickly changed his mind. “Well maybe. Lets hope not.” He said, chuckling a bit to himself as he said it.

 

“It seems like what they had before was special.” Lux said. This caused Garen to roll over and look at her. She was staring up through the canopy into the stars above.

 

“Possibly. I wouldn’t know though. I’ve… actually never been in a relationship before.” Garen confirmed, shocking Lux. She rolled her head over towards Garen.

 

“You haven’t!?” Lux said surprised. Garen shook his head. “Well isn’t there a girl you’ve liked before?”

 

“Well… maybe.” Garen said childishly, looking at Lux laughing. Lux laughed back. “But yeah… I’ve been thinking about her for a while now.”

 

“Go for it then! Ask her out after we’re done here!” Lux suggested.

 

“Well, it’s a little more… complex in my situation.” Garen said, leaving Lux confused. Lux stared at Garen for another moment after before deciding that she was too tired to ask anymore questions. She rolled over on her side, breathing deeply before she closed her eyes.

 

Garen stayed looking at Lux for a little while after. She just looked so peaceful. It was relaxing to Garen to watch her sometimes do anything. While looking at Lux though, now that she brought up the subject, his mind couldn’t get off her.

 

“I wonder what she has been doing lately.” Garen thought to himself. He stayed for a little bit longer before rolling over and falling asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

_Day 7_

 

Things seemed a lot less stressful this morning than the previous one. Everyone was getting along much better, people actually conversing with each other whilst last time it was nerve wrecking to even speak in front of the furied Teemo and Kennen. The sun was about now hitting the peak it would be at to be noon, a light breeze flowed followed by the scent of magenta flowing through the air. It was certainly more peaceful. It didn’t take long for them to hit the road either. They made quick work of packing everything up and moving out. Teemo and Kennen were in the front talking to each other while Garen, Lux, and Tristana were in the back having their own conversation.

 

“So I was thinking,” Teemo began. “After this mission, we can head back to Bandle and get you caught up.”

 

“What about Shen and Akali though? I can’t just leave them.” Kennen asked.

 

“Well this mission might take a while. If you didn’t get separated too far from back there, you might find them out here.” Teemo pointed out, a smile on his face.

 

“You may be right on that.” Kennen assured, grinning at Teemo. “Besides, what is your mission anyway?”

 

“It’s with Garen and Lux. We’re supposed to be finding -”

 

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH”

 

A high pitched scream made everyone alert. Suddenly, as if it was instinct, Teemo and Kennen went back to back, both drawing their weapons.

 

“What was that?” Teemo asked urgently.

 

“A scream! It came from that way.” Tristana said, pointing down the long path of trees. They all turned towards it.

 

“Let’s go!” Ordered Kennen. He took off running, the others following close behind him.

 

And with that they ran.

 


	8. Chapter 7: Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fight sequence. Emotional backdrops and events. Action-packed.

_“You step outside, you risk your life. You take a drink of water, you risk your life. And nowadays, you breathe and you risk your life. Every moment now, you don‘t have a choice. The only thing you can choose is what you’re risking it for.”_  - Hershel Greene: The Walking Dead

 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

 

Another scream. That was the second scream that they had heard within a minute. Not only was it just a scream, it was a scream that projected legit fear. It projected fright, fear, and danger. However a scream has not only relied on the sound, but the person screaming. Who they hear scream is a completely different story, it may be ally, enemy, however the feeling that one gets remains the same.  It is instinct to cringe when a person screams. It is feeling, however, to react depending on who is screaming. One who is in danger, one that’s life is on the line. One would do whatever it takes to save them, even if it means risking their own life.

 

From the faces of all the others, Lux could tell that this was serious. She had never been in a situation like this before, she has never been exposed to death the way that others were. Inexperienced at the task at hand, however she still has the courage to follow them. Her courage comes from her own free will and support of her stronger allies around her. Her big brother, Garen, took lead on the left. His sword was drawn and was wielded with two hands, holding it steady ready to attack anything sudden. Lux noticed that his eyes were different in combat. He was strict, locked in the zone that prevented him from focusing on anything other than combat. His eyes, the biggest factor in telling what someone must feel. Garen was much happier, cheerier, and mysterious outside of combat. When in combat he was a different person. He gave off a vibe that one would not want to mess with. Strict, strong, deadly.

 

The same zone projected in Teemo. His eyes were squinted, holding his blowgun tightly in his hand searching for the enemy. It was a dense woods in front of them, not much else could be seen except the thick trees in front of them and a faint glow of light a ways away. Tristana and Kennen were right by his side, commanding the push on the right. Tristana held her rocket solidly in her hand, finger on the trigger ready to shoot any moving thing in front of her. Kennen was on the left of Teemo, holding his shuriken steadily at his side creeping along silently making sure not to step on any falling branch.

 

Kennen moved swiftly ahead of everyone, catching Garen off guard at his unorthodox rashness. He went pretty far ahead catching the end of the tree wall in front of them while the rest were still a ways behind. Teemo was observing what he was doing. Slowly, Kennen kneeled behind the wall of leaves. Taking a deep breath, he stuck his head through the wall, making Teemo nervous about the act. He stayed like that for a moment, but quickly pulled his head back through, turning around urgently as he had a surprised expression on his face. Quickly, he held his hand up to the others motioning them to stop in their tracks.

 

“Stop!” Kennen said, holding his hand up. The others stopped, looking at Kennen worried. Slowly, he held up his index finger, letting it glide in front of his mouth signalling for everyone to be silent. With another slow motion he pointed at Teemo. “Come here, slowly.” Kennen now whispered, but they could still hear the tenseness in his voice. Obeying Kennen’s command, Teemo slowly made his way over towards Kennen, kneeling down once he was next to him. Cautiously, Teemo poked his head through the same gap Kennen did, quickly withdrawing it as soon as he saw what Kennen did. Kennen’s hands were supporting Teemo’s shoulder as he flinched backwards, revealing the same nervous look that Kennen did. Kennen and Teemo looked at each other for a moment, then Teemo turned his attention to the rest. Shivering a bit, he pointed towards the ground.

 

“Get on the ground and move towards me… slowly.” Teemo commanded. The others looked at each other, Lux noticing a hint of fear in Tristana now if something could scare Teemo and Kennen that easily. As Teemo said, all of them got on the ground and crawled towards the two slowly and carefully.

 

“Everyone stay calm, and most importantly stay quiet.” Kennen said, a serious tone in his voice. All of them nodded simultaneously, knowing whatever that they saw is dangerous. Kennen and Teemo both positioned themselves forward, making their way through the brush again. Following their lead, Tristana crawled through the leaves as well, reacting with a noticeable gasp heard by the others. Garen and Lux looked at each other, both of them having a nervous look on their face.

 

“Whatever happens Lux,” Garen prompted, whispering to her. “Stay near me.” he said, giving her a reassuring smile that everything should be ok. Lux trembled, nodding slowly to him. With a deep breath, both of them crawled through the brush.

 

The light hit their eyes first, revealing a large field out in front of them completely exposed to the sky. A brief breeze blew their faces, leaving the trees rustling around them. On the far other side of the field was the forest, the field was a complete circle in the middle of the forest. There wasn’t much to the field, all that signified its purpose was its openness. Lux, still wondering what was happening, looked to her side, realizing that the others were pulled up further than she was. She crawled up a slight bit more before coming across an edge, identifying that they were on a small cliffside that bordered the field. Looking down from the cliffside, however, she witnessed all of the commotion.

 

“Oh my…” was all Lux could react by. This truly was a situation.

 

Below them was an entire pack of what seemed to be… trolls? Trolls this far south were a rarity, especially this many of them. Their distinct ugly figure made them stand out from the other mystical creatures that roamed these parts. Predatory in nature, trolls aren’t something to laugh about. From Teemo and Kennen’s experience, they may be short on intellect but pack a punch if they land a hit. All of the trolls below them wielded some sort of thick wooden weapon, this most common being a large club. However, this wasn’t the main problem at hand. They surrounded something. No, someone. Someone that Teemo, Tristana, and Kennen both knew as the most innocent, quirky, and caring yordle around. What stood out from her was her sense of color. She radiated purple from every aspect of her. Her skin was a vibrant purple, her hair was a dark purple, her sorceress clothing and witch hat were red infused with a sense of purple, complimenting herself and the wooden staff she carried around with herself at all times.

 

“Is that Lulu!?” Tristana asked in shock, her eyes going wide at the sight of her.

 

“That’s Lulu.” Teemo confirmed. “What in Bandle is she doing all the way out here?”

 

“GIVE HER BACK!” they heard commotion from below again, all of them looking down. They weren’t directly overhead of Lulu and the trolls but fairly close. From their point of view, Lulu’s back was to them and the the pack of trolls were in front of her. One particular troll, the suspected leader, was up closer to Lulu than the others. Opposing her complaints, the troll held her back just by holding his giant hand up to her head as she was trying to jump at what he held in his other hand. What he held captive was of great importance to Lulu, a lifelong friend.

 

“Look,” Kennen said, pointing down to what the troll was holding. “He has Pix.”

 

“Dammit Lulu you really know how to get yourself in trouble.” Teemo mumbled to himself quietly.

 

Pix, Lulu’s fairy companion, was being held captive by the troll. There was a long history with the two and how they came to be, but Pix was the source of Lulu’s powers. Without Pix, Lulu’s faith was lost. Right now Lulu is trying frantically to do whatever she can to get Pix back. Reaching as far as she can, she’s jumping up trying to reach the poor fairy.

 

“GIVE PIX BACK!” Lulu yelled again, only receiving heavy laughter throughout the yordle crown that made Kennen cringe a bit.

 

“Ahhh, so the little things name is ‘Pix’.” the troll said in a deep and scratchy voice, laughing at the name of Pix.

 

“She’s not a thing!” Lulu said courageously, gaining the look of the troll. “She’s a fairy and she’s my best friend.” Lulu stood her ground, showing the most courage any of them ever saw.

 

“HAHAHAHA!” the troll bursted out into laughter that now made Teemo and Tristana cringe. The troll stumbled back a bit from his laughter, however Lulu was still standing her ground. “Look her girl, fairies don’t exist on this planet of ours -”

 

“Pix isn’t from Runeterra.” she interrupted boldly. “She’s from The Glade -”

 

“DID I SAY YOU COULD INTERUPT ME!” the troll yelled into Lulu’s face angrily, leaving Lulu with the smell of raw meat and fish from his breath. Her face didn’t turn scared however. She still stood strong despite the odds.

 

“How many are there?” Teemo asked, whispering over towards Kennen.

 

“Twenty.” Kennen said. The thought of twenty trolls was a bit too much, but something was bound to happen.

 

“What do we do if things go south?” Tristana asked, panicking for her friend’s safety.

 

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to that.” Kennen hoped for. He turned his attention back towards the action.

 

“Now, as I was saying,” the troll continued. “How can this thing be your best friend? It’s not even the same species as you.” the troll commented, angering Lulu even more. “You yordles, I don’t understand them sometimes. So selfless, not caring about themselves but more about others.” the troll turned his gaze towards Lulu, who was doing her best not to outburst. He gave her a sarcastic kind smile. “Now if you don’t mind, you can scram! We have a new friend to attain to.” The troll held the fairy up in his hand, holding Pix by the wing as she frantically tried to escape the troll’s grasp.

 

“I’m not leaving without Pix.” Lulu said sternly, her voice becoming more angry the longer she stood still.

 

“Oh really?” the troll said slowly, bringing her face closer to Lulu’s. Suddenly, Lulu’s head twitched a slight bit.

 

“Yeah really!” she said loudly in a mocking tone. As she did so she challenged, stepping to the side of the troll who was observing her carefully. She brought her gaze to the troll spectators. She took a deep breath, turning her head presenting the act of uncertainty. However this was a signal. She angled her staff at just the right angle and turned her head just enough so that Kennen could see the green in her eyes. Her staff was pointed directly at him. As she did so she gave a quick nod, agreeing on what she was going to do. As she did so, Kennen nodded as well.

 

It was time to take action.

 

“In fact!” Lulu yelled to them, turning her gaze back to them looking strict now. “I’ve never seen one such troll that shows as much incompetence as the one right here!” She challenged now, directing her hands towards the troll that had Pix in his grasp.

 

“WHAAAT!” The troll yelled, now in anger at Lulu’s provoking. Lulu turned her gaze at the troll now, smiling that she was expressing her courage.

 

“Yeah! The big bad troll is too scared to pick on someone his own size, so he has to come and abuse me!” Lulu provoked more, making the troll more angry.

 

“WHY YOU LITTLE -” The troll yelled anger walking over towards Lulu in an alarming rate. As he approached, he raised his large club preparing to strike Lulu. Lulu snickered at the troll’s temper before closing her eyes, preparing for impact. As she did so, the troll swung.

 

_*swoosh*_

 

As fast as the moment occured the club hit… but not Lulu. Bracing herself, Lulu had

guarded her face with her hands, but no impact came. About a thousand different sounds flooded her ears at the same time, the sound of trolls in the background gasping in shock, a thunk of what the club did connect with, the sound of dirt kicking up in front of her. Opening her eyes she slowly slid her face out from behind her hands. What she found in front of her was her savior. A yordle in a purple ninja garb using his strength to hold back the trolls club with one hand. Small sparks of electricity emitted through him.

 

“Wow he’s fast!” Garen exclaimed from the cliffside, leaving Teemo and Tristana to chuckle a little.

 

“Don’t worry, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Teemo commented, leaving Garen in another state of amazement.

 

“Kennen…” Lulu said softly, more than thankful for her rescue as of now. Kennen’s head was hung down, looking intimidating.

 

“Don’t touch her.” Kennen said menacingly, leaving the troll in front of him with a questioning look.

 

“Eh!? What’s this? Another pipsqueak yordle!” The troll mocked, leaving the other trolls laughing. Kennen let it happen, raising his gaze to look at the troll in front of him. He only now realized how big the troll was compared to him, almost tripling Kennen’s size.

 

“Give the fairy back and no one has to get hurt.” Kennen offered but challenged at the same time.

 

“HA! You think that you can scare me by wearing some Halloween ninja costume!?” The troll mocked again. Kennen stayed quiet again, his grip on the troll’s club tightening.

 

“You fellows hear this!” The troll called back. “This guy thinks he can hurt me! This dumb, fake, pint-sized yordle thinks he can hurt me -”

 

And as quick as a snap of the finger the hair on the troll stood up, causing his body to straighten and tense up super fast. Looking over at Kennen his body was tensed as well, however through his arm you could see the electricity being transferred through his arm and the club, leading straight to electrocuting the troll. After a few seconds the troll fell to the ground, smoke coming off of the troll’s body. Kennen looked up, seeing the other trolls astonished in the background.

 

“Size doesn’t mean everything.” Kennen said, releasing the grip on the club letting it fall and hit the troll on the head.

 

“HEY THAT’S MY LINE!” Teemo yelled, apparently angry. He stood up and tried walking over towards Kennen, however not remembering there was a cliff directly in front of him he fell and rolled all the way down. Kennen turned and witnessed all of it, embarrassed at Teemo’s clumsiness sometimes. Kennen walked over towards Teemo, who was on the ground laughing to himself, noticing his stupidity at times as well. Kennen offered a hand to him, giggling with him as he pulled him up. The others followed, however this time not rolling down, instead sliding carefully down the cliff. Tristana shook his head at Teemo although laughing herself. Kennen looked back, quickly noticing something that he should’ve noticed before. He ran over towards the downed troll and recovered Pix, who was still laying in the troll’s grasp from before. He walked towards Lulu, who was standing there looking at him.

 

“For you.” Kennen said caringly, giving Lulu the fairy. Lulu slowly took Pix back and placed her on her shoulder. The fairy fluttered around, happy about being back with Lulu.

 

“I don’t know how I can ever thank you.” Lulu said quietly but emotionally, tears welling up in her eyes.

 

“Don’t thank me. What you did was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen you do.” Kennen said, holding his hand on her face. Lulu leaned in more, bringing Kennen into a quick hug.

 

“Hey Lulu, we can catch you up with Kennen later but right now we have a much bigger situation to deal with!” Tristana said. Kennen looking back at what Tristana was talking about noticed that the trolls had surrounded them, leaving them with no where to run. Kennen and Lulu both took a step back, regrouping with the others. Garen had his sword drawn, ready to protect Lux, Tristana’s hand was on the trigger, Teemo had his blowgun in hand, and now Kennen had a shuriken out.

 

“Hmph.” Kennen snickered. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to kick some troll ass.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Remember Lux, stay behind me.” Garen ordered strictly. Lux nodded. Not having a weapon meant she didn’t really have a way of defending herself. The only thing she had was her baton but that wouldn’t be enough to take down a troll.

 

Eyeing the competition in front of them meant that this wasn’t going to be an easy feat. After the takedown of the first troll, nineteen still remained. Each one looked as menacing and ferocious as the last. The urge to fight was there, it only mattered on how to engage. They all tensed up, waiting for the person to make the first move. Kennen stood towards the left of the group, along with Teemo and Lulu. Towards the right was Tristana, who had her sights on one of the trolls head, Garen and Lux. Kennen, taking a barely noticeable step towards Teemo, raised his hand up behind Teemo’s shoulder. Teemo noticed, letting Kennen do what he was doing. With one finger he tapped the back of Teemo’s shoulder, Teemo’s face immediately becoming more confident at the plan that both of them knew. The first tap with one finger, the second tap with two fingers, the third with three fingers.

 

One.

 

Two.

 

Three.

 

As quick as light Kennen first flipped out a shuriken in his hand, twirling it over fast and swiftly in style. Bringing it above his shoulder he quickly and powerfully threw it to a troll that surrounded his left. The shuriken emitted an electrical surge that Kennen made sure to charge before throwing it. It punctured the troll’s thick skin easily, leaving him to stumble back from the shock. As he did so, Teemo took off in the same direction as the troll. Teemo was fast on his feet, closing the gap quickly between him and the troll. Approaching him, Teemo slid between the trolls legs appearing behind him. Another troll was stationed behind the first troll, whom Teemo quickly reacted and blew a dart into his left eye, blood spurting out blinding the troll. Realizing this wasn’t enough, he blew another dart into his chest. Combining the puncture with the poison Teemo used, the poison spread quickly throughout the troll’s body, leaving him paralyzed on the ground. Behind him Kennen quickly darted towards the troll much faster than Teemo runs leaving him looking like a ball of lightning flying towards the yordle. It was fast but the troll’s stomach was met with a seismic punch by Kennen, leaving his fist connected he surged out electricity from his hand which left the troll charred on the ground. Teemo and Kennen both looked at each other taking a breath and nodding before turning their attention back to the other trolls.

 

**17/20**

 

“Right!” Tristana yelled, bring the others attention to her right.

 

Two trolls were quickly gaining on her and the others, however their sights were set on Tristana. With not much time to react she acted in the most absurd way that Garen had ever seen. Without much thought of the consequences, she ran towards the trolls rocket in hand. Before they were too close, Tristana aimed her rocket at the ground. She leaped, pulling the trigger a rocket exploded the ground beneath her causing her to be propelled higher into the air. High enough to soar above the trolls who had stopped to witness. She landed with a thump, leaving her stumbling to catch her balance. When she did, the trolls in front of her were closing the gap to her again. With flawless aim, Tristana domed the troll on the right leaving his body and a splotch of blood on the ground. Switching her target to the second troll she pulled the trigger, leaving the troll to gasp for air at the impact of a rocket at her stomach. The rocket pushed the troll back a little bit, just enough for Garen to run up and impale his sword through his body.

 

“Watch out!” Garen yelled to Tristana. Tristana turning to her left saw another troll much closer to her this time swinging his club downwards.

 

“Woah!” Tristana exclaimed as she sidestepped the strike. Not as much time to react at the trolls quick movements she couldn’t dodge and shoot her rocket at the same time. The troll took several swings at her, Tristana ducking and dodging every single one. Before she knew it she had herself pinned up against her balance, the rocket weighing her down on one side. Within the next strike she knew she couldn’t dodge it without tripping. The troll raised his club up and strongly descended it down upon Tristana, however as he was doing so a metal object blocked the strike. Garen had blocked the strike, wedging the sword into the troll’s club. Tristana felt a rush of relief flow through her as she watched Garen eye the troll. With Garen’s strength, he flung the club up into the air dislodging his sword from the club. Catching the troll off-guard he quickly followed his momentum, swinging his sword with such force it cut the troll’s rubs open bleeding out the side now. Continuing to follow the momentum of his swing he spun once, raising the edge of the sword so that when he ended his swing the sword cleanly cut off the trolls head, leaving it hitting the ground. However he didn’t stop, surprising Tristana. One more spin but this time he took the sword in one hand and stopped spinning at Tristana. Like throwing a javelin Garen threw his sword directly above Tristana’s head, causing her to flinch, colliding with the chest of a troll that was unexpectedly charging at Tristana. The troll went flying back, impaling the ground with Garen’s sword sticking up from his chest. Tristana looked back at Garen, who seemed pretty satisfied from himself. However Garen let his guard down, letting another troll slip through his blind spot. “Shit!” Tristana exclaimed, gripping her rocket and pulling the trigger the rocket she fired went right past Garen’s side, causing him to stagger, hitting the troll. The rocket did not kill the troll on impact, however it seemed that the rocket she fired was much heavier than the others. With the force of the rocket the troll was sent sliding back, colliding with another troll standing idly behind him far away. Tristana lining her aim shot one last time. The rocket whizzed through the air, penetrating the rocket that the troll had stuck in his chest sending a huge explosion through the air making Garen and Tristana stumble a bit. A giant cloud of smoke and ash was left where the trolls were standing. When the smoke cleared, the trolls were gone. They both stood there in silence for a moment, breathing heavily and taking in what just happened.

 

“Well then.” Tristana said breathlessly, turning to Garen who had sweat dripping from his hair. “Good job!”

 

“Yeah. You too.” Garen said exhausted at the engagement. He looked over at Tristana, her hair shimmering from her sweat. Together they both shared a smile at their teamwork. But somehow it seemed as if Garen… forgot something. His eyes went wide at the realization.

 

“Lux!” He called out turning around. His eyes searched the battlefield looking for her. His eyes eventually caught hold of her, dancing and dodging around a single troll that went after her.

 

“Lux!” He yelled out again, starting his way towards her when another troll decided to block his way. The troll stood as a blockade between him and her. Sighing anxiously, he raised his weapon charging the troll.

 

**11/20**

 

The best part about Lux being unarmed was that she was the most mobile next to Teemo and Kennen. Her lightweight attire kept her movements fluent as she danced and dodged every strike the troll threw at her. Lux was smart in her own right and soon fell into a pattern where she could dodge everything the troll threw at her. Ducking once at a horizontal strike, jumping a low strike, sidestepping an overhead strike. Heck if the troll was smart he would’ve just grabbed her already. Not only that but he would’ve known that there was Lulu on standby near Lux. The only situation for Lux now was how was she going to get out of this. Observing the troll’s patterns Lux had a devilish smile creep across her face as she concocted a plan. With a strike aimed at Lux’s right side she executed. This time she didn’t jump over the club, but onto the club. Her feet managed to balance on the club as the troll didn’t know what she was doing. Not leaving the troll any time to react she quickly ran up the club, jumping all the way from his hand onto the troll’s shoulder. The troll was shocked by her actions, quickly and frantically trying to shake the woman off of himself. However it did not work. Steadying herself on his shoulder she raised her baton and hit him as hard as she could across the face. As expected, the troll stumbled back a bit, not enough to knock him on the ground however. Lux jumped off the troll, stumbling on the ground at the fall. When she looked back up the troll did not seem fazed. Quickly the troll approached her, ready to strike her.

 

“Welp, that didn’t work.” Lux said to herself, holding her hands up bracing for impact. The troll swang down on her, however he hit something else. Lux, looking up realized that the club’s force was held back by some sort of shield. The shield resembled a bubble around her, seeing colors reflect off the surface of the shield. Suddenly she knew what was causing the shield. A small butterfly-like creature fluttered around her shoulder. It was Pix. Hearing a step to her side, she looked to see Lulu appear, her staff by her side.

 

“I will not be a burden!” Lulu stated, raising her staff. “Lux get behind me. Get ‘em Pix!” As she said that both Lulu and Pix casted a purple magic bolt that collided with the troll, sending him stumbling back a bit. Lux, it wonderment, did as Lulu suggested and stood behind her. Repeatedly Lulu and Pix sent magic bolts flying towards the troll, however it didn’t seem to do anything except knock him back a bit. Suddenly, Lulu had a wicked idea. Twirling her staff once she pointed it towards the troll.

 

“Adoribus!” Lulu yelled, this time sending a yellow magic bolt out of her staff. Upon collision with the troll a big, white puff, similar to a small cloud, appeared. When the cloud went away there was no troll anymore. Instead in its place seemed to be a… small, furry, and cute squirrel. The squirrel took place of the troll. Lulu, knowing that it was safe, approached the squirrel.

 

“Aww, look at the cute little animal!” Lulu expressed, much to Lux’s bewilderment. Lulu was now right next to the animal, looking down upon it with big eyes.However with a snap of a finger her expression changed completely. “Except you do not fool me demon!” What she did next completely shocked Lux. She took her foot and crushed the poor thing right beneath her. However it seemed that it had a toll on Lulu as well, her face cringing at crushing an animal like that. Soon blood appeared from beneath her foot, streaming down the grass. With another quick poof, another cloud appeared before them, making Lulu fall back. Now before them was the troll once again, this time it seemed that every bone in his body was crushed, laying dead on the ground before them. Lulu stood up quickly not taking much time to look over the carcass in front of her. She turned around to notice a very surprised Lux looking at her.

 

“Sometimes you have to do the extreme in order to survive.” Lulu said, chuckling a bit. It took her a while, but Lux finally responded with a small chuckle.

 

“Lux!” she heard a cry from the side of her. Looking over she noticed Garen walking over towards her, blood dripping from the sword from the troll he had just slain. Lux ran up to him quickly, giving him a quick hug.

 

“Are you ok?” Garen asked, letting go of Lux.

 

“Just about. Lulu saved me. I wouldn’t be alive right now without her.” Lux said, looking over at Lulu who was observing them. Garen looked over at her and gave her a thankful nod, her responding with the same nod.

 

**9/20**

 

“Kennen!” Teemo cried from aways from Garen and Lux. They looked over, noticing that Teemo and Kennen seemed to be taking on all of them at once.

 

“On it!” Kennen called back. Looking over at Kennen two trolls were on him at the moment while Teemo was getting pinned by two more. Kennen looked at the two who were in front of him. They were easy enough to get through. At the speed of light, Kennen raced up and hit both of them at practically the same time appearing behind them afterwards. As quickly as that happened, lightning flowed through his arms, this time extending through the air itself to electrocute the two trolls at the same time. Once that was done Kennen dashed through the field to get to Teemo quickly, using two shuriken to take down a troll behind Teemo once there. As this was happening, Teemo rolled to the left, dodging the strike of a troll who was directly in front of him. Quickly he blew a dart right into his chest. In less than a second he loaded another dart, blowing three more darts into the troll’s chest before going down. Looking back now, Teemo noticed another troll darting towards Kennen from behind. There was one thing that stood between him and that troll. A shuriken laying casually on the ground. Without much time to think, Teemo ran forward and rolled, picking up the shuriken in his hand while rolling. After the roll, Teemo quickly chambered his arm and did everything Kennen taught him. With the flick of his hand the shuriken went flying right into the trolls back, causing him to fall on the ground directly before Kennen. Kennen looked up to see what had happened. When he realized, a warm smile crept across his face. Teemo walked up to him.

 

“I knew teaching you something would pay off.” Kennen said, making Teemo laugh.

 

“You should teach me stuff more often.” Teemo said, making each other laugh. Together they laughed in harmony for a moment. Nothing much was happening on the battlefield at the moment. Garen and Tristana were fighting a few trolls on the other side of the field and Kennen and Teemo were taking a quick breather. However it didn’t last long, when a troll suddenly appeared besides Kennen.

 

“Watch out!” Teemo yelled. But it was too late for Kennen to react. By the time Kennen turned around to see what was happening the troll was swinging down upon him.

 

_*thwack*_

 

It was a blunt impact, seeming to affect the entirety of Kennen’s side. He flew back a few feet, landing on the ground in a hard impact. Kennen opened his eyes, awaiting something to follow up. But then Kennen noticed something.

 

There was no pain.

 

No. Kennen wasn’t hit by the troll but pushed. Pushed by what? Frantically realizing he skittered around to look up. What he saw was a horrible realization.

 

Teemo took the hit.

 

Teemo pushed Kennen away at just the right moment, leaving Kennen safe and Teemo to take the beating. He saw Teemo fly back right before his very eyes, a trickle of blood following him. Kennen’s eyes went wide and his heart dropped seeing Teemo crash into the ground, sliding across before finally laying limp on the ground.

 

“NO!” Kennen cried out in horror. Quickly he stood on his feet, threw two shuriken directly into the attacker’s eyes which killed the troll on the spot, and darted over towards Teemo. Kennen came to a dead stop at Teemo’s body, falling on his knees at the sight of him. The fur around his nose and mouth were stained red with his blood. His body was completely still.

 

“Teemo! Teemo wake up!” Kennen cried, tears dripping from his eyes now landing on Teemo’s face. He grabbed Teemo by the shoulders and brought him up to Kennen’s face, frantically shaking his body trying to get him to wake up.

 

“Teemo! Teemo please! Please!” Kennen pleaded with nature at this point, freaking out now. However his attempts had no effect. After a while Kennen’s shaking came to a stop.

 

Kennen dropped Teemo’s lifeless body on the ground, letting it lay limp and peacefully before him.

 

…

 

Kennen hung his head, now emotions taking the better of him. Tears stung his eyes, making a futile attempt at wiping them off.

 

 _“Teemo.”_ Kennen heard his own voice inside his mind, the memories flooding back to him.

 

_“Yeah Kennen?” Teemo asked back, looking at him. Kennen’s eyes were firm on him, but also looked nervous in their own way._

 

 _“Let’s make a promise.” Kennen said softly, coming up to Teemo taking both of his hands in his. Teemo looked at him confused._ Kennen clenched his fist in a tight ball at this moment.

 

_“What kind of promise?” Teemo asked, looking into Kennen’s eyes unsure. Kennen looked into his eyes more fiercely than ever before._

 

 _“I promise to always protect you, now and forever.” Kennen said caringly. However the reaction he got out of Teemo was unexpected. Teemo chuckled at his promise._ Kennen heard the sound of other trolls surrounding him. He was vulnerable.

 

_“What’s so funny?” Kennen asked._

 

 _“Oh, it’s just I’ve already vowed to myself to always protect you.” Teemo said, looking into Kennen’s eyes lovingly. Teemo leaned his forehead up on Kennen’s, their eyes staring into each other._ Kennen stood up, clenching his eyes that were still pouring tears.

 

 _“But if you wish, I promise to always protect you, now and forever.” Teemo said, the truth coming out of his mouth. Leaving Kennen speechless all he could think about was how much he loved Teemo, and how much Teemo loved him._ The familiar sound of thunder clouds turned the sky gray at their new presence.

 

_“I love you Teemo.”_

 

_“I love you… Kennen.”_

 

“I will… NEVER… go back on my promise!” Kennen said ferociously. His eyes whipped open, revealing his eyes to be stained red, bloodshot at his crying. He looked around, four trolls surrounded him and Teemo.

 

“And for ANYONE to stand in my way…” Kennen yelled out now angrily, raising his hand in the air. The giant grey clouds swirled above them at the presence of the lightning tempest.

 

“... May I smite them down…”

 

Kennen sliced his hand through the air, chopping downwards. The clouds above him reacted to his command, charging with such energy only the tempest could control. As quick as a snap of the finger, four lightning bolts rained down from the sky hitting directly where the surrounding trolls were standing. It went straight through them, hitting the ground causing it to rupture on impact. It was all over in a second. The clouds above them slowly began to disperse, leaving the the trolls consumed by lightning, bodies being replaced by thick ashes. Kennen was left to stand there and take it all in, the trolls around him now gone forever. Unexpectedly, a tear of blood dripped from his right eye, rolling down and sticking to his cheek.

 

**1/20**

 

Kennen collapsed onto the ground, curling himself into a ball next to Teemo sobbing loudly. He couldn’t focus on anything else in the moment, only destroying those who are responsible for this tragedy.

 

“Holy crap! What happened!” A frantic voice called out. Kennen opened his eyes, seeing all of his comrades run over to him and Teemo. Tristana ran the fastest, sliding next to Kennen and noticing Teemo.

 

“Oh no.” Tristana whispered,looking down in shock at Teemo. She was paralyzed at the sight, giving enough time for the others to approach. They all had the same look on their faces. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. This can’t be FUCKING happening!” Tristana prayed, leading her to slam her fist into the ground in anger.

 

“Everyone move!” Garen ordered, allowing him to gain passage to Teemo. Looking down in horror he examined his injuries. Easily a broken nose, no passageway for oxygen to travel in or out, a swollen throat, multiple scratches and bleeding across his face. Garen quickly reacted, putting his ear down on Teemo’s chest. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hear anything. He looked down upon him, placing both of his hands on Teemo’s chest and started pushing as hard as he could.

 

“That won’t work!” Lulu told Garen as she kneeled right beside him. Garen couldn’t help but make room for the sorceress. “Let me try something.” Lulu said firmly, meaning to let her do it. She laid her staff down next to her.

 

Lux was quiet this entire time, observing everything that was happening. Looking over at Kennen he was now sitting up, embracing and crying into Tristana’s shoulder as she did the same. Kennen separated from Tristana as she went back to hitting the ground. Kennen stayed, hovering over Teemo looking down hopelessly. Lux went over and kneeled down next to him. Kennen looked up at her with his bloodshot eyes, noticing himself that Lux was attempting to hold back tears of her own. She took hold of Kennen’s hand.

 

“Whatever happens… I will be here for you.” Lux said caringly. Kennen could only nod at her offer, needing all of the support he could get at the moment. Lux looked back down at Teemo, noticing something that made her slip a tear out of her eye.

 

Teemo laid there lifelessly… with a smile on his face.

 

“I’ll be right back.” Lux said, angry now. She quickly jolted up from where she was and stormed off into the field.

 

“Pix.” Lulu said, raising her hand up to her shoulder where Pix was perched. By will, the fairy climbed on to Lulu’s hand and Lulu placed her on Teemo’s shoulder. Beginning, she crossed her hands and placed them over Teemo’s heart. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. A faint yellow glow began to emit from Lulu’s hands and Pix.

 

“What are you doing?” Garen asked curiously.

 

“It’s a special type of magic that I’ve only used once and learned from the Glade.” Lulu confirmed, only making Garen more curious as to who she was. But that didn’t matter right now, the only thing that mattered was bringing Teemo back. At this point Kennen and Tristana both watched Lulu intently, Tristana clenching her hands together praying that whatever she was doing would work. The more Lulu focused, the brighter the light emitting from her hands became, the more Lulu became entranced in what she was doing. However the more she was doing it, the less she could breathe. Tristana noticed Lulu wasn’t breathing anymore, instead she was holding her breath as long as she could.

 

“Lulu… are you -”

 

“ _Rebio Iterum!_ ” Lulu yelled, interrupting Tristana by accident. As she did that a miracle occurred. Lulu strongly inhaled…

 

… as she did so Teemo’s eyes shot wide open, inhaling deeply.

 

Lulu fell back from where she was while Teemo shot straight up, now choking on new air and coughing out some blood. Teemo was… alive again! Kennen and Tristana both gasped in shock as Teemo sat up in front of them.

 

“Teemo!” Kennen yelled happily, quick to the draw jumping on Teemo holding him in a tight embrace. Teemo seemed surprised at this action but held him tightly as well.

 

“Hey Kennen.” Teemo said, obviously tired about what just happened. Kennen pulled back and gazed into Teemo’s drowsy eyes. Teemo stared back, noticing Kennen’s bloodshot eyes and tear of blood still stuck to his fur. Teemo slowly lifted his hand up, wiping the blood off of Kennen’s face.

 

“You were crying.” Teemo said, receiving a small laugh from Kennen.

 

“No shit.” Was all Kennen could reply. Kennen leaned over with an elated smile on his face and looked over at Lulu who was on the floor regaining her breath, Pix now perched on her shoulder.

 

“Thank you Lulu, for whatever you did just now.” Kennen said to Lulu.

 

“Oh no problem, consider it my way of repaying you.” Lulu said, sounding exhausted. “But I am a bit tired now.”

 

“EEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

 

Another scream interrupted their conversation. Everyone looking over, Lux was being closed in upon by one last troll. Reacting quickly, Kennen and Teemo both grabbed a shuriken and threw it at the same time. Both shuriken hit the troll’s right leg, Kennen’s shuriken only an inch above Teemo’s. This caused the troll to collapse, slamming the ground directly in front of Lux. This sent vibration and an echo of the collision through the ground…

 

Vibration? Echo?

 

Suddenly the ground ruptured beneath them. Confused they all looked between each other, wondering what happened. Then it happened again, this time the sound was on the surface.

 

“AHH!” Lux yelped, the ground shaking her off balance. Out of no where, the ground beneath her collapsed, Lux falling just far enough to latch onto the side of the ground keeping her up. She looked down, a deep black abyss below her.

 

“Lux!” Garen cried out as him and everyone else took off towards her. The ground ruptured again, this time cracking the ground more. Lux climbed herself high enough to barely see the others run towards her. But Lux heard the inevitable crack, as the piece of ground she held onto collapsed, sending her falling down the abyss.

 

Garen got there just in time to see her eyes fall into darkness.

 

* * *

 

The fall down took its time, falling all the way down into the ground. There was no one around for them to witness what she was witnessing. Pure darkness surrounded her descent. But with a splash she was saved. Water broke her fall, leaving her to sink rapidly in the bottomless sink of water. For whatever reason she did not have the energy to swim up, nor could she float up. All that she could see was the tiny speck of light at the surface through which she had fallen through. She closed her eyes, not being able to stand the day anymore preparing to accept her fate.

 

And thus she accepted her fate as a hand wrapped around her wrist.


	9. Chapter 8: Buried Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New character introduced. Major plot sequence.

_Hours later - Day 8_

 

Light a match and walk forward. The small object is capable of lighting the way much more effectively than anything else. With the flick of a finger the strength within the match releases, fire spreading to the very tip where all can see the match illuminate the dark. Some cower in fear at its presence, others learn to embrace it. Those who embrace it are given a bright future, a future that will have the light guide them until their last breath. How about the lights last breath? As a match, the more it lights the way, the more the light fades, eventually giving out its last breath and dying.

 

This light never fades.

 

The last thing that Lux could remember was her encounter with a horrific fate. She had fallen from the surface above down to darkness. She didn’t open her eyes immediately, as she was tired from the situation. What she could observe though wasn’t one of a dead woman, or one of a drowning woman. She lay flat on her back against hard ground, rock presumably. She felt no air around her, however shivered at her dampness. Still a bit wet from her fall however not as wet as when one would just get out of the water. What she heard was a different story, a story that changed her perspective on the area. She heard the crackling of a fire… along with the pacing of footsteps that echoed around her.

 

Lux opened her eyes and immediately flinched. Stalagmites towered directly over her, looking like spikes about to rain down upon her at any moment.  The whole area around her seemed to emit the same feeling as when locked in a box: enclosed, ominous, and dark. Lux rolled her head over to her left side observing where she was in awe. It was a large area, a giant cavern that locked her in. In the very middle was an underground lake, Lux assumed this was the one she fell into as she could see a faint glint of light touch the middle of the lake. It truly was a sight to behold, rocky cliffs on the side of the lake made them seem like diving boards for teenagers wanting to jump into the lake. It was a giant underground dome.

 

Now looking over to her right she saw what was making most of the noise in the cave. A small fire crackled away as it emitted its light and warmth.This wrapped around Lux and made her feel much more comfortable in this situation. Embracing the warmth she noticed a new objects lying around it. First off were a two backpacks, one was open which was probably the one that contained the objects for the fire. The other sat idly next to it untouched. Next to the backpacks was what seemed to be a mining helmet, but more high-tech than any other mining helmet has seen before. It had a light that was attached to the front of it which was turned off for now. The object that intrigued Lux the most was something she had never seen before. A metal, golden glove lay along with the rest of the gear. The architecture on the glove was brilliant. Examining it, it seemed to have lines for every joint on ones hand and fingers making the glove extremely flexible in its wielder. A large gem was infused with the glove, making itself noticeable by sticking out from where the back of the hand would be. From its location it didn’t have much of a presence, but if it was in light than it would for sure be shining in it.

 

Finally she leaned her head upwards, checking what was in front of her. She had found the source of the footsteps. Not far from her was a man, no yordle, pacing back and forth on the floor in front of her. From what Lux could make out, he wasn’t very old. In fact you could still see the youth in him, Lux assumed that he was about the same age as her. He wore a white buttoned up shirt along with a red tie around his neck. He wore a brown climbing glove on his right hand but none on his left hand. He had brown leather shoes, along with dark green hiking pants to go along with it. His hair stood out most to Lux, it being a messy style but golden even in the depths of the underground. Lux could picture his hair flowing in the wind, it would look so natural. He had his hands clasped behind his back, pacing back and forth nervously. He contemplated what he was going to do, looking at the ground. Looking at his face he seemed pretty nervous.

 

Lux didn’t know what to do, the man hasn’t noticed her awake yet but it’s obvious that he has taken care of her. She slid her leg across the ground causing some noise. The man noticing immediately turned his head to Lux, his face flushing with relief at the sight of her.

 

“You’re finally awake.” The young man said. “Thank goodness.” Lux didn’t know what to think of his words. Who was he? He stopped his pacing and went over to his backpacks, opening and shuffling through items in the one that wasn’t open before.

 

“Who are you?” Lux asked calmly. The man hearing her voice for the first time perked his ear up.

 

“That’s a question out of many that people who don’t know one another ask when they first see each other.” The man said, cleverly avoiding the question. “I could ask you these same questions. Along with why is a young girl like you all the way out here by yourself? And how did you manage to fall through the ground at the top of this trench?”

 

“Long story. You wouldn’t believe what was going on up there a few moments ago.” Lux said, oblivious as to what time it was.

 

“A few moments ago?” The man said chuckling. “Lady you were out for a good seven hours.”

 

“Seven hours?” Lux said, now scrambling to get up. However she had not regained her full strength yet, collapsing to the floor again.

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it there missy! You’re not that strong right now.” He said, turning his head towards Lux. She noticed that the man had a single right triangle beneath both of his eyes. Finally getting what he wanted, he handed a bottle of water to Lux. Lux looked at it for a second, hesitating to take it.

 

“The name’s Ezreal.” He said, gaining Lux’s attention. With newfound information, Lux accepted the water and thirstily drank it up. Setting the bottle down she looked at Ezreal who was looking at her. His eyes caught Lux’s attention; a bright blue color that Lux thought was… beautiful.

 

“A pleasure to meet you Ezreal.” Lux said, not really knowing how to approach the situation.

 

“A pleasure to meet you as well Miss…” Ezreal trailed off.

 

“Oh right. My name is Lux. Luxanna Crownguard.” Lux confirmed, Ezreal’s eyes going wide at her name.

 

“Wait, you’re Lux Crownguard? The sister of Garen Crownguard!” Ezreal asked in awe.

 

“Mhm!” Lux said proudly.

 

“Well that would explain why it looked like an angel descending upon the heavens when you fell.” Ezreal stated, leaving Lux with a questioning look on her face.

 

“So you were the one who saved me.” Lux said with a devious smile on her face which made Ezreal chuckle a bit.

 

“Yup. And you’re lucky there was water at the bottom here. I would say we are a… solid thousand feet beneath surface level.” Ezreal said, looking up at the ceiling of the cavern. “It was a pain in the ass getting you out of the water, you sunk so deep.”

 

“Well I thank you for that.” Lux said cheekily, leaving Ezreal with a small blush on his face.

 

“Now I must ask you again,” Ezreal started, serious look on his face. “What happened up there?”

 

“Like I said, it truly is a long story.” Lux defended. “But long story short, me and Garen are on a mission to track down and destroy all three of the augments for the Hex Core -”

 

“Hex Core?” Ezreal interrupted. “You mean the object used by the Machine Herald that had enough power to destroy all of Valoran?”

 

“Yes.” Lux said hesitantly. “We are on the quest to destroy what is giving the Hex Core its powers. Me and Garen, along with the best soldiers in Bandle City set out. What happened up there was a fight that did not end all too well…” Lux trailed off.

 

“I see…” Ezreal muttered, contemplating the information. “So the voice I heard shouting as you fell was Garen’s I’m guessing.”

 

“Probably, hehe.” Lux chuckled. “He’s always worried about me, but that’s what makes him my big bro.” Lux smiled at Ezreal. She wasn’t afraid to talk non-professionally around someone her age. Besides, Ezreal didn’t look too professional anyways. Ezreal laughed as well, loud enough so that one could hear his voice echo throughout the cavern. The two sat there awkwardly for a moment, thinking of what to do next. Lux especially was awkward. Coming from such a high status family regarding Demacia she didn’t really talk to many people outside royal status, making her a bit socially awkward. After a while she slowly stood up.

 

“You need any help?” Ezreal offered, preparing to get up.

 

“No, no I’m fine.” Lux said, even though she was wobbly on her own two feet. She walked over to the fire that Ezreal had made and sat next to it, embracing its warmth in the cold cave. Ezreal walked over and took a seat on the opposite side of the fire across from her.

 

“So what are you doing all the way down here?” Lux asked, curious to know more about her new friend.

 

“I’m an explorer.” Ezreal replied with a rather broad answer. “I like to travel to different places, explore the wild, experience the unknown! It’s thrilling if you think about it, the sense of adventure wherever you go! I’m actually surprised not many people go venturing out into the wilderness these days.” Ezreal said, leaving Lux with a positive feeling about him.

 

“And it happened to be that your explorations lead you down here.” Lux confirmed for herself, Ezreal nodding at her observation.

 

“There happens to be a cave system that links all the way back to the surface. Once we’re done here we can head back up… unless you want to explore with me.” Ezreal said that last part quietly, Lux not quite catching it.

 

“What was that?” Lux asked.

 

“Oh, I was just asking if you would be interested in exploring the rest of this cave with me.” Ezreal said, his words were noticeably spaced apart. “But if you don’t want to that it’s fine with me. We can make our way -”

 

“I would love to!” Lux said cheerfully, now leaving Ezreal shocked.

 

“Really?” Ezreal asked.

 

“Yeah, it will be fun! Besides, this is a beautiful cave anyway.” Lux confirmed, leaving Ezreal with a happy smile on his face.

 

“Alrighty then!” Ezreal said happily. Lux laughed at his cheekiness.

 

“Well if you don’t mind, I’m going to have a small nap and when I wake up we can go, ok?” Lux said as she laid herself out on the ground.

 

“Ok…” He replied, a sense of disappointment in his voice. He watched as Lux closed her eyes.

 

But secretly Lux didn’t close her eyes, only enough to the point where Ezreal thinks that her eyes are closed. She could still see what was in front of her. Lux was about to test a… theory, you could say. She tilted her head to the side where she could see Ezreal in front of her. It was obvious he wasn’t sure what to do about the situation. He sat criss-crossed on the ground, tapping his foot against the stone beneath him. His face seemed intertwined with thoughts, Lux making out that he was easily thinking about what to do. Ezreal would look away for a few seconds but then immediately finding himself looking back at Lux. He shook his head a few times, trying to break himself out of the habit of looking at Lux. However it obviously failed, as his gaze always returned to Lux.

 

“Hehe…” Lux couldn’t help but laugh to herself out loud. Ezreal’s eyes landed upon her again, this time staying there. Lux realized that she had laughed out loud.

 

“You’re not sleeping are you?” Ezreal asked, smiling lightly when Lux opened her eyes and started to laugh at him. He looked confused as to why she was laughing.

 

“Why don’t I see any cute and adorable guys like you in Demacia?” Lux asked playfully, leaving Ezreal to blush.

 

“Maybe because there aren’t any cute or adorable guys like me in Demacia.” Ezreal playfully said. Lux laughed at this.

 

“Where are you from anyway?” Lux asked, still cheery.

 

“Piltover, the land of wonder and technology.” Ezreal said, using his hands to gesture a sarcastic rainbow.

 

“Piltover huh?” Lux said. He didn’t look like a Piltover boy, but Lux could imagine him from there in one way or another. Lux had heard many things about Piltover in her life, most commonly known as the city of technology. The city of Piltover was the ones who keep the technology flowing all throughout Valoran. Located there was the famous Institute of Technology and the Yordle Academy for Science and Progress, both of which are renowned for their position in teaching people the ways of the future. It was the most technological city state in Valoran, Lux could only imagine what it looked like.

 

“Yeah. It’s a great state, it’s just too crowded. I can’t stand it.” Ezreal leaned his hands up against the floor, supporting him as he sprawled his legs on the ground.

 

“Have you been to Demacia?” Lux asked.

 

“Oh yeah, plenty of times. If I could get the money to live there I would, trust me. That would be a haven for me.” Ezreal responded. Lux was shocked that he was explaining this much about himself.

 

“Well since you’re from Piltover it would explain why that glove over there looks so different.” Lux said, pointing at the glove.

 

“Oh that thing.” Ezreal regarded, reaching over and picking up the metal glove. He put on it on, holding it out and bending his fingers, showing off how it worked. “I’ve had this thing since I don’t know how long.”

 

“What is it?” Lux asked curiously.

 

“Now that’s a long story.” Ezreal said seriously. “Let’s just say that it is an object that only I can use. Why? A question many ask, an answer I only give to a few.”

 

_“Interesting.”_ Lux thought. _“That glove is the first thing he’s secluded about.”_

 

“Now this doesn’t mean that I’m special.” Ezreal continued, apparently not finished. “We all have some sort of item that makes us special in our own way. You have shown yours already.”

 

“What do you mean?” Lux asked, confused. Ezreal reached over to his backpack and pulled it towards him.  He rummaged through it, this time not taking long to find what he was looking for. From inside he pulled out an object that Lux only just now realized she didn’t have with her. Her baton.

 

“You have this.” Ezreal said twirling it in his fingers examining the object. Something about it intrigued him.

 

“What, my baton?” Lux asked, oblivious to what Ezreal might react. Ezreal looked at her for a second before realizing with horror and some humor that Lux doesn’t know what he knows. He smirked.

 

“You don’t know, do you?” Ezreal asked mischievously.

 

“Know what?” Lux asked back, only making Ezreal’s smile even more devious. His eyes glinted at this knowledge. He twirled the ‘baton’ in his hands once more before holding the end out in front of Lux’s face. Lux motioned to take it but Ezreal quickly pulled back.

 

“No, look at it closely.” Ezreal said seriously. It was amazing how his personality switched from playful to serious in a matter of seconds. “Look at the ‘baton’ closely.” Lux gave a confused look to Ezreal, who only responded with a motion of his head to the ‘baton’. He held it at that angle for a reason. He wanted Lux to look at the very top of it. The ‘baton’s architecture made it so from the base of it was a brighter golden metal coil that spiraled up above the ‘baton’, leaving the end spiked up like a claw grabbing out at something. This happened on both sides. Looking at the claw, Lux finally noticed what Ezreal was talking about. The way each end was raised to form the claw resembled a perfect triangle. A perfect triangle. In the midst of the triangle was the base of the baton, which had only also just noticed that it had a shape carved on the top. It was a triangle with a line going through it.

 

“A perfect triangle…” Lux said to herself awestruck at what she only just now noticed after all these years. Ezreal simply nodded.

 

“... With a glyph in the middle of it all.” Ezreal finished.

 

“What does it mean? The triangle with a line through it?” Lux asked.

 

“Well according to ancient Valoran hieroglyphs, I’d say that it means “gem””. Ezreal confirmed. Gem? “That means that this ‘baton’ here is not what you might think it is.”

 

“A gem… this would mean that a gem would fit here in my ‘baton’” Lux said, looking at Ezreal intently. “But I still don’t get it. What would a gem in my ‘baton’ do?”

 

“You still don’t see the resemblance? Ezreal said, slightly shocked but sort of expected by him. He handed the ‘baton’ back to Lux, whom she held it in front of her face examining it. Her face became bewildered when Ezreal finally revealed the answer to her.

 

“Lux that is no baton. That is a _wand._ ”

 

“A wand!?” Lux said shocked, not believing him at first.

 

“Yes a wand. A wand that requires the magic of a certain gem that will unlock its power.” Ezreal said, looking at Lux in the eyes. “Tell me, you haven’t had anything magical happen to you while holding this wand, have you?” Ezreal asked.

 

“No…” Lux said slowly.

 

“That is to be expected. Because you don’t have the certain gem that unlocks this wands power, you will never feel its magic.” Ezreal stated.

 

“Ok… so how do we go about finding this “gem”.” Lux asked again. The more and more she listened the more in more in disbelief about the worlds possibilities became.

 

“Well first I recommend we get out of this cave. Then I have a friend in Demacia that has a strange… craving for gems. He should be able to help us out.” Ezreal said. It was a start, but who knows how far they are from Demacia. Ezreal got up, preparing to leave.

“Wait!” Lux said, grabbing Ezreal’s shirt causing him to turn around, looking at the Lux who was still on the floor. “You said that we could explore the rest of this cave, remember?” Lux asked. Ezreal smirked, of course he remembered.

 

“Of course, Lux.” He said cheerily, holding his hand out. Lux gladly accepted it, pulling up to her feet. “How could I forget about you?”

 

* * *

 

“Wow!” Lux gasped as she grabbed Ezreal’s hand, lifting her up to the side of a cliff. They hadn’t even moved far from where they were just stationed, only a few rocky ledges over to the right of the campsite. From here, however, the view was already ten times better than it was. The cliffs raised in the trench-like cavern, giving a much higher view of the underground lake. From a downward view, it looked absolutely stunning. With the small amount of light coming down from the hole that she fell from, it glinted perfectly off the water, showing off every single shimmer in the water. The lake was much larger than she had previously anticipated, extending all the way to the back and the right of the cave leaving only a small stone pathway in the front and on the right.

 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it.” Ezreal said in awe with her. “See, if scientists were to find something like this, they would probably decorate it and call it a national landmark.” He chuckled at the thought.

 

“Do they actually do that?” Lux asked.

 

“I don’t think so, its just my own stereotype.” Ezreal said, looking at the area in front of him. There was a small opening in the wall in front of them. “Come on, theres still much to explore.” He said enthusiastically, excited to explore more. He grabbed Lux’s hand, pulling her towards the opening. It was a small slip, and one Lux was surprised to see Ezreal had noticed before. On the other side of the opening was the cave Ezreal used to get down. It was actually very small for a cave, leaving only a foot or two of headroom before hitting the ceiling. Besides that though it was a normal cave. The ground seemed to have taken some of the water from the underground lake and used it in its tracks, small patches of water were scattered across the cave floor.

 

“How far does this go?” Lux asked, tiptoeing across a puddle trying not to get wet.

 

“All the way back up to the surface madam.” Ezreal said, looking back at Lux. “However there are side-caverns that I ignored on the way here. We can go explore those.”

 

“Sounds like a plan!” Lux said, landing right next to Ezreal after hopping over the next puddle. She looked into his eyes, learning that he was obviously excited about the venture. “Lead the way!”

 

“Yes ma’am!” Ezreal replied, flipping a switch on the back of his helmet which turned on the light on his helmet that practically blinded Lux as it shined right in her face. He turned his head, lighting up the corridor before them. It revealed a rocky slope that headed upwards into another opening. Grabbing Lux’s wrist he began to pull her towards his destination, not wanting to lose her.

 

“It’s easy to lose someone in these caves, especially when you get to the caves with multiple paths.” He explained, stepping up towards the top of the slope with Lux. Before them was a small outcropping in the cave that separated into 3 different paths. “Like this one.” He sighed and took a step forward, then turning back to Lux. “So, which path do you want to go down? Left or right, the middle takes us back up to the surface.”

 

“Well, what’s your favorite color?” Lux asked cheekily. Ezreal glared at her confused, Lux gave a coy chuckle at her awkward question.

 

“Blue…” Ezreal said slowly.

 

“Great, mine too!” Lux said enthusiastically, instantly taking initiative and grabbing Ezreal’s hand and leading them down the left path. Ezreal wasn’t sure about her question and in fact, Lux wasn’t sure why she asked it in the first place either. She just wanted an excuse to learn more about him.

 

The cave they went down was a lot more narrow than the cave they were in before, sometimes they had to slide their bodies through small spaces to get to the other side. The farther and farther they went inside the cave however, the more and more ominous it became. Lux couldn’t tell if it was just her or Ezreal’s light, but something was causing the path before them to get darker and darker ever so slowly. Their footsteps echoed off the walls around them, as that was the only sound they heard. They hadn’t said much to each other which made the walk pretty awkward for them both, the only sounds coming out of their mouths were the occasional “Ooh’s” and “Aah's” that came whenever they saw something unusual or out of place. And for some reason there were a lot of those. They came across multiple outcroppings that lead out into different cave systems. Sometimes the small caverns would have stalagmites scattered across the top of them, and sometimes it seemed as it the tip of a stalagmite was cut cleanly off or there would be a piece where a stalagmite was but wasn’t anymore. It was very odd indeed, even Ezreal stated that it was. They kept continuing as it was, making it a pretty lengthy journey underground. They spent about an hour or two roaming underground, it was hard to keep track of time underground. Even so, it was worth it for Lux.

 

“Too bad that we have to get you up to the surface soon.” Ezreal said, breaking the awkward silence that surrounded them.

 

“We have to go up so soon?” Lux asked.

 

“Yeah. It took me about an hour to get all the way down here. Can’t imagine how long it must take for us to climb back up.” Ezreal explained, turning to Lux. “See you took the easy way down here.”

 

“Easy hmm.” Lux said laughing and so did Ezreal. Ezreal offered her his hand as he pulled her up another steep step. Looking back in front of them, Ezreal’s light had finally hit something other than darkness in front of them. Slowly, they approached the rock wall that was now in front of them. There seemed to be no where else to go from here.

 

“Aww, a dead end.” Ezreal complained, groaning the words as he said them. Lux walked a bit closer to the wall as Ezreal turned around taking a deep breath. At sight of the wall, something intrigued Lux that Ezreal had not noticed. She crept up on the wall slowly before stopping.

 

“Lux, should we just make our way back to the surface already?” Ezreal proposed, turning around. He noticed Lux looking at something on the wall. He looked at her confused.

 

“In just a second.” Lux replied, squinting her eyes to see what she was looking at. “I think I found something.” Taking her hand she wiped off some of the dirt on a flat part of the wall before them. She revealed something of a discovery. Little characters that she could not decipher were carved into the wall before her. Many of them actually, if they were normal characters they would form a full sentence.

 

“Ezreal I found something! It looks like more of those glyphs.” Lux called back, still wiping off more and more dirt revealing many more glyphs. They all looked like tiny people, either working, praying, or dying, like ones you would see in the Shurima Desert. Ezreal did not respond.

 

“Ezreal!” She called back again. Still no response.

 

“Ezreal!” Lux called again, this time turning around. However as she was turning around, everything went black. No, she still had her mental state and was conscious. Her sight went completely dark, as Ezreal’s light went off. She couldn’t see anything anymore, leaving her balanced wrecked. Her heart was racing now.

 

“Ezreal!!” She yelled louder this time, still not getting a response. Suddenly the roof above her shook. She stumbled back against the wall, not knowing what was happening. Above her was a bunch of rumbling as the planet moved. Without warning, the roof collapsed in front of her, leaving her enclosed between the rocks and the wall behind her. Her hands clasped onto ridges of the wall behind her for dear life. She didn’t know what to do. For a moment she stood like that as silence surrounded her, her face frightened after what happened. After a while though, a light lit through the few cracks in the rocks.

 

“Lux! Lux!” She could hear Ezreal call frantically, stepping up a few of the rocks.

 

“I’m here Ezreal!” She yelled through the wall separating them.

 

“Oh, thank god you’re still alive.” Ezreal said with a sigh of relief. His voice was muffled through the rocks, but still understandable. “I left for one second and this happens! I’m such and idiot!”

 

“Umm Ezreal, not to be rude but can I get some help!” Lux yelled. Once again however the ground above them shook. Unexpectedly, the wall that Lux was leaning on collapsed. Lux stumbled against one of the fallen rocks as she witnessed the wall do so, leaving a rock pile on the floor and… another path. There was another path hidden behind the wall?

 

“Lux, are you ok!?” Ezreal called frantically, hearing the commotion.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Lux said, getting up and brushing the dirt off herself. She looked down the path that she had just revealed. It was different. She felt different. Everything around her just became twice as spooky. Without Ezreal’s voice, she could hear sounds coming from the pathway. The thing that frightened her the most though was… there was a faint blue light coming from the end of it.

 

“I-I’m going to try and get you out of there as fast as I can! Just hang tight ok!” Ezreal said again, which Lux only replied with a nod that Ezreal couldn’t see. She heard him beginning to shuffle through the rocks that fell. It didn’t seem like that he noticed the sound of her footsteps beginning to walk away from him.

 

_“What is this?”_ Lux thought to herself. The cave before her now was completely different than the one she had been in previously. She realized that the faint blue glow in the cave was now a pulsing light, and the farther and farther she walked into the cave the brighter it became. It was just enough light for her to see down the cave. The light wasn’t coming from the outside, no, they were too far underground to ever see the light of day. The light was being emitted from something inside the cave. Her heart began to race. She began to feel fear. She could hear sounds coming from the end of the cave…. they sounded like whispers. Someone talking. Lux couldn’t make out what she was hearing, although it was something bad. Real bad.

 

Once at the end of the cave she rounded the corner, seeing another wall at the end of it that rounded again. This time the light consumed the wall of the cave fully, blue light trickling across the ridges and cracks of the wall. The more and more she walked the louder and more clear everything became. The more and more apparent the voices… or voice became. It was a single voice, and it also didn’t seem like that that voice was talking Lux’s same language. She couldn’t understand it, however to her it sounded like some sort of prayer or ritual. It was her turn to finally round the corner at the end, and when she did she immediately recoiled back behind the wall.

 

“Holy shit!” she said quietly to herself. What she saw instantly gave her goosebumps, it frightened her that much. Regaining her composure, she peeked around the corner again.

 

It was a wide area, another cavern, however completely different than the others. This one was not only coated with the blue light, but also covered with a mass majority of spider webs. Much more spider webs than they saw in the other caves. This one had spider webs of all sizes, the one most noticeable was the one at the opposite end of the cavern, it encased the entire back end of the cavern. Lux crept a little bit closer and ducked down behind a rock. Slowly she peeked her head out and saw what was causing the noise, making her recoil with even more fear than last time. It was… a person… no… a spider… no… both! That’s what it seemed like, the person, or woman to be more accurate, standing with her back to Lux seemed like both a spider and a human but combined! It was hard to imagine. Four large spider legs protruded out of backside. Her skin was both of a spiders and a humans, her hands and legs both black and red like a spiders, but her body resembled that of an elegant woman. Her face was a mixture of both, with her spider parts it seemed as if it resembled somewhat of a piece of armor on her head, still showing off her red hair combed neatly so that it wouldn’t get in the way of anything. She was standing there looking at something on the wall in front of her, her hands cupping together in a prayer-like fashion.

 

_“Senma cale i’e wyst ale so Vilemaw…”_ Was the only things Lux could interpret from her chanting. Whatever she was talking about, it wasn’t good. She scoured the room again, looking for anything else that might be helpful to her in this situation. Instead she found something of great importance. The object emitting the blue light. It was sitting on the ground idly by as if it was nothing. It was obvious that the being before her didn’t know what it was. It seemed like part of a gem but cut into a third of what seemed to be the whole gem. However that was the whole gem. That and two other gems like that make up the problem.

 

It was an augment.

 

“That’s it!” Lux said to herself. Her face immediately became more serious at the realization. This isn’t just a time for her to be scared anymore, her objective was in sight. “Now how do I get to it?” Lux thought again. It was almost at the other end of the cavern and pretty close to the spider-lady. Observing the room, there aren’t many other hiding spots that she could use to creep around. If she left the spot she was in right now, the spider-lady would sure hear her. What if she were to confront the spider-lady? Surely that wouldn’t end well, but what if she wasn’t some demon? What if she was actually -

 

“Eek!” Lux yelped by accident as something touched her shoulder. She clenched her hand over her mouth. Looking over, a small baby spider had descended from the ceiling above her and landed on her shoulder. It had the same color pallette as the spider lady before her…

 

Wait… everything just went quiet.

 

Lux looked around the corner and saw that the spider-lady had just stopped talking as soon as the spider hit her shoulder. But the scary part was… she was looking directly at her.

 

“Oh Lord Vilemaw…” She spoke in a language Lux could understand. “It seems we have a visitor.”

 

By reflex Lux stood up to face her. She noticed that the spider-lady was walking slowly towards her. Lux couldn’t do anything except back up in fear. That is, until she hit a wall behind her.

 

“Oh little girl, you look so innocent.” She said slowly, making Lux’s face flush pale. “Too bad that today you will be sacrificed!” She said that part menacingly. She was about half-way across the cavern from Lux when she did something… inhuman. It happened extremely fast, almost in a cloud of smoke, did the spider-lady in front of her transform into… a spider! A giant spider, a little bit bigger than the average human. Her spider form looked very similar to the spider that fell on her shoulder: 8 legs, a red and black body, and pincers that could chop someones head off. Not only that, from the ceiling descended 4 more spiders! Each of them looked just like the rest, only a bit smaller than the spider-lady.

 

Lux’s body was shaking now. Fear enveloped her. She didn’t care for the augment anymore. This was life or death, and right now it seemed much closer to death. The spider began to approach her slowly, each of her spiderlings following right behind her. Death was so close…

 

_*BAM*_

 

Something fired off, creating a loud “Pew” sound. Suddenly, the spider in front of her recoiled, just being struck by something. The projectile was nothing Lux has ever seen before. In fact, it looked like the spider had just been hit by some sort of light, some sort of mystic shot. Looking over to her left was her savior, Ezreal.

 

“Lux! Run!” Ezreal shouted. Lux looked back at the spider, who had just now recovered. It was pissed. Suddenly, the spider charged fast at Lux. With quick reflexes, Lux rolled out of the way of the spider’s lunge. She wasn’t pinned against a wall anymore. Making use of this advantage, Lux quickly ran behind Ezreal who was standing and observing the situation.

 

“Hang on!” Ezreal said, raising his left hand. He fired off another one of those mystic shots that Lux couldn’t really tell what it was. All she knew that it was coming from his glove, the metal one with the gem in it. The bolt collided with the spider, knocking her back once again. Although the only thing it did was knock her back. Without much time recovering, the spider charged at the once again.

 

“Grab my hand!” Ezreal shouted, Lux doing as she was told. The spider was extremely close to them now, but with one click flash of light she wasn’t there anymore. No, it wasn’t that she wasn’t there, they weren’t there. They teleported somewhere else.

 

Lux turned to Ezreal about to talk, but quickly Ezreal clasped his hand over her mouth and crouched themselves down behind a rock. Ezreal raised his other hand, motioning Lux to be quiet. He removed his grasp from Lux.

 

“Since when did you know how to fight!” Lux whispered frantically.

 

“Since I learned how to use magic.” Ezreal whispered, shaken up by the situation.

 

“Since when did you learn to use magic!?”

 

“Since always! I was born with it!” Ezreal said, peeking around the corner. Lux stayed quiet for a second, absorbing that Ezreal was born with magic powers.

 

“What’s that blue thing!?” Ezreal asked noticing it.

 

“It’s an augment! One to the Hex Core! We need to destroy it!” Lux said, still frightened. Ezreal nodded, staring at the peculiar object.

 

“I have an idea!” Ezreal whispered over. Lux didn’t even have time to ask what it was before Ezreal stood out walked into the open.

 

“Are you crazy!” Lux yelled at him.

 

“Yup!” Ezreal said, looking over at Lux and giving her a smile. That was one thing admirable about him, he always seemed so positive and cheerful. But putting his game face on, he looked over at the spider, who seemed to be bewildered that they teleported right before her eyes. “Hey! Freakface!” Ezreal shouted at the spider. In one swift motion the spider turned to face Ezreal, hissing once the spider had sight of him. In a rage, the spider charged at him. Without much hesitation, Ezreal raised his glove and once again teleported behind the spider, this time firing off a mystic shot as he did so.

 

“Lux! The augment!” Ezreal shouted over, firing another shot at the spider. Lux, noticing what he was planning, had the spider distracted. As fast as she could, she ran over to the augment. It was a small gem, but still of great importance. A ringing sound filled Lux’s ears as she got closer to it. Kneeling down, she picked up the object and grasped her hands around it, now the only light visible was the blue light seeping through her fingers. Looking back over, Lux saw Ezreal and the spider battling it out. Ezreal was fast, dodging every strike that the spider and her spiderlings put out. This time he fired out a different type of mystic shot, not only going through her but all of her spiderlings. All of them staggered back a bit, giving time for Ezreal to sneak around the side of the spider and head towards Lux.

 

“Grab my hand! We’re leaving!” Ezreal said, looking back. The spider was running at them again. Quickly, Lux took Ezreal’s hand and in a flash, they were on the opposite side of the spider, right next to their exit.

 

“Run!” Ezreal shouted. When Lux looked over, Ezreal was already dashing towards the exit, the same cave Lux had come from. Lux hurriedly followed, hearing the little skitters of the spiders chasing behind her.

 

“Get to the end! I will be right behind you! Go!” Ezreal yelled, letting Lux run past him. Lux could hear the sound of mystic shots being fired off behind her, colliding with the spider. Lux hopped over the stones where the roof collapsed, noticing Ezreal probably used a mystic shot to blow a hole through the rocks. Lux reached the end of the cave, a drop off of where they climbed up at. Ezreal skidded right next to her, turning around.

 

“Hold on tight Lux!” Ezreal said. Lux seemed confused until she noticed what Ezreal was doing. He looked back at the spider who was still about halfway down the cave. For a second, Ezreal took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He opened up his eyes, instantly gaining a new confidence. Lux noticed that the color on the gem on his gauntlet turned blue. He raised his hand, and it seemed like that his entire body levitated off the ground. He raised his hands above him, conjuring what seemed to be an arcane bow. The bright blue light emitting from his gauntlet was the same color of the bow, making it seem like an arcane force was forming the bow. Ezreal pulled back on the imaginary string on the bow, taking a deep breath as he said.

 

“Trueshot Barrage!” Ezreal yelled as he released his grasp. Instantly the light from the bow diminished, transforming itself into a giant yellow barrage of arcane force. With its strength it flew down the cave in an arced pattern, scraping and breaking the sides of the cave walls with how big it is. It was fast and from the force it was strong, equivalent to that of a train. Within a few seconds, it collided with the spider, not only that but went through the spider, still maintaining its shape. The spider shrieked as the barrage still cut through the walls around her. The spider fell onto its back, obviously gravely wounded by the hit. The ceiling above them shook once more, making them stagger back. All of a sudden the entire cave in front of them caved in. Dirt and dust rose up in front of them as the last of the rocks caved in. Looking back in front of them, the area where the spider was at was replaced large and sharp rocks. A small stream of blood appeared where the spider was, trickling down and hitting the side of the wall.

 

“What the fuck happened!” Lux said loudly, freaking out about those last few events.

 

“I don’t know! You got assaulted by a giant spider thing!” Ezreal said back, also freaked out by the whole situation.

 

“That was crazy!” Lux now said shouting, her voice echoing off the walls. She put her hands on her head and turned away. Ezreal turned with her, putting his hands on her shoulder.

 

“Hey it’s ok. Everything is ok.” Ezreal said, trying to comfort the freaked out Lux. He noticed that she still had the augment in her hand.

 

“Lux, the augment.” Ezreal said calmly. Lux opened her eyes, realizing it as well. She took her hands off of her head and held the augment out in front of her.

 

“Oh yeah, totally forgot about this.” Lux said, staring at the object. She could notice the gem pulsating in her hand with blue light, almost blinding to be up next to. It was a peculiar gem, even touching it felt like an evil force was emitting off of it. “Well, what do we do with it?”

 

“What was the goal of your mission again?” Ezreal asked.

 

“To hunt down and destroy all of these…” Lux said. Almost immediately Ezreal took the augment out of her hand, threw it on the ground, and shot it with arcane magic. One mystic shot was all it took for the gem to practically blow up on the ground, shattering into a thousand pieces.

 

“Well, that was easy…” Ezreal ended. He looked over to Lux, who had a cheeky smile on her face. “What?”

 

“It’s just… you did that so…” Lux said, waving her hands in front of her face, trying to find the word. “I don’t know, that was just so awesome though!” Lux said, this time laughing. Ezreal laughed as well.

 

“That’s the fun of exploring! You get into weird situations like that and you come out alive!” Ezreal said sarcastically, making Lux laugh again. Ezreal started his way down the slope, helping Lux down by grabbing her hand. Once they hit the bottom, Ezreal noticed Lux shiver.

 

“Are you cold?” Ezreal asked.

 

“A bit.”

 

“Well here.” Ezreal said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a neat green jacket. He wrapped it around Lux’s shoulders, making her instantly feel warmer. Not only that, Ezreal also took the initiative to wrap his arm around Lux, pulling a tad bit closer to her. It was a move that Lux could tell Ezreal was not all that confident in doing, but it only made Lux respect him more. They began walking, Lux leaning her head onto his shoulder a bit as they walked.

 

“So, I guess its time to leave hmm?” Ezreal asked, his voice now warm and comforting.

 

“Yeah… but do you know how to get out of here? Do you have a map or anything?” Lux asked. Ezreal replied with a loud laugh.

 

“HA! Who needs a map?”

 


	10. Chapter 9: ... Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strong Relationship Bonding. MxM romance.

_Meanwhile, after the incident. Day 7._

 

“Lux! Lux!” Garen yelled at the top of his lungs. He was at the front of the group, running faster than even Teemo and Kennen at the spot where Lux had fell. It was too fast for him to comprehend everything that had just happened in these last few moments. He had just saw a dead Teemo come back alive right before his eyes, then seconds later his beloved sister fall into the depths of Runeterra. He practically skidded to a stop at the hole Lux fell through, looking down in horror as Garen could see the white in Lux’s eyes disappear right before him.

 

“LUX!” Was all Garen could yell, tears immediately beginning to stream down his eyes. He reached his hand down the hole, not accomplishing much but reaching to her from far above. He noticed the others slide up before him, Teemo and Kennen at his side.

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop, stop!” Teemo yelled at the emotionally infuriated Garen who looked like he was going to practically throw himself down after her. Teemo grasped Garen’s shoulders with both of his hands, Garen pushing up against it like he was going to jump after her. “Hey, hey! Listen! It’s ok! Garen, it’s ok! Listen to me!” Teemo said frantically, trying to calm Garen. What he didn’t expect was Garen to throw his arms around Teemo, practically strangling the poor thing, and began sobbing into his shoulder. It seemed very awkward to Teemo, a big man holding a small yordle. Teemo couldn’t help but let him be though, right now he needed everything he can get. Slowly, Teemo reached his arm as far around him as he could and held him.

 

“Oh my god…” Kennen said quietly, observing the hole. It was deep, that was for sure. You definitely couldn’t see the bottom of it. The hole revealed the giant trench beneath it, rocky edges traced the walls. Kennen stood up, not wanting to look down. He put his hands on his head and began walking in circles, traumatized by the situation as well. “What the FUCK is happening!” Kennen yelled, stomping the ground as he did so.

 

“I wish I could tell you Kennen, I really do.” Tristana said, pacing in a circle around the hole. All of them surrounded the hole, Kennen just a bit off to the side looking infuriated. Garen had released his grip on Teemo now, still sobbing on the side, his eyes bloodshot.

 

“Wait… wait everyone.” Lulu said quietly. They all turned to face her.

 

“What Lulu?” asked Teemo.

 

“Be quiet for one second! Listen!” Lulu said urgently. Still looking confused, Teemo did what she said, and the others did what she said. Nothing was happening around them, the only sound they could hear was the wind blowing ever so slightly…

 

… and a faint splash that echoed off the walls of the abyss.

 

“Did you hear that?” Lulu asked, looking up. All of their eyes went wide.

 

“A splash…” Tristana said, straining the word.

 

“Meaning that there’s water down there.” Teemo confirmed. Slowly, his face turned a bit happier about the situation.

 

“Oh yes, because a small puddle of water is going to save her.” Garen said, groaning out the words. The others looked between each other. He had a point.

 

“The water’s not shallow.” Lulu said, standing up. “If it was, we would’ve heard some bones cracking as well.” Lulu said, making Garen cringe and have Teemo, Kennen, and Tristana glare at her.

 

“We don’t know what’s down there…” Tristana said, trailing off a bit.

 

“You’re right, we don’t. That’s why all we need to do is for Lux to get out of there safely by herself.” Kennen said. He approached Garen and kneeled down in front of him. The moment really got to him, Garen’s face had dried up tear streams all over it. Kennen placed his hand on Garen’s shoulders.

 

“She’s alive, I can guarantee that.” Kennen said in a comforting tone. Garen almost instantly loosened up. “But right now we can only hope for her to get out alive… You love her, right?” Kennen asked, which seemed like an odd question. Garen looked up at his chocolatey brown eyes.

 

“Yes…” Garen said slowly.

 

“Then have faith in her and she will surely come back.” Kennen said, releasing his hand and standing back up again. Garen sat looking at the spot where Kennen just was, still looking where his eyes were. He was right. Garen couldn’t do anything right now, all he had to do was believe she could get out alive. Kennen walked over towards Teemo, who was too busy contemplating on what to do next. He was taken by surprise when Kennen placed his arm on Teemo’s shoulder, turning him around to look at him. They just looked at each other for a short while before Kennen finally gave in. He laughed once and wrapped his arms around Teemo, giving him a hug. Teemo hugged him as well.

 

“Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Kennen whispered into Teemo’s ear. Teemo gave a small laugh.

 

“I won’t, trust me.” Teemo said to Kennen. He pulled back, clasping onto Kennen’s shoulders and looking at him a bit more. “That reminds me…” Teemo said, instantly getting up and walking over towards Lulu. She noticed him walking towards her, but didn’t have enough time to say anything before Teemo gave her a hug, knocking Pix off her shoulder who began to fly in the air next to them.

 

“Thank you Lulu for… whatever you did back there!” Teemo said, chuckling at that last part. It was true, Teemo had no idea what Lulu did to save him, but it worked.

 

“Don’t mention it. Anything for my best friends.” Lulu said, making Teemo smile. Lulu retracted, smiling at Teemo but noticing he had a questioning look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

 

“How did you get all the way out here in the first place?” Teemo asked.

 

“Odd story actually.” Lulu began, twirling her staff in her hand a bit. “Yesterday me and Pix visited the Glade once again. It was a nice trip, being back in Pix’s homeland. I bet you felt a bit nostalgic, didn’t you Pix?” Lulu asked. Pix replied by fluttering back and forth, doing a backflip mid air. “Anyway, when we were leaving it put us in a random spot in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea why it happened, it just did. All of a sudden I heard a random BOOM coming from off in the distance. I didn’t know what it was, curious I tried to follow it.” Teemo’s had a pokerface on at this part. God damn Kennen, firing off Tristana’s rocket… “After a day’s worth of traveling I fell asleep against a tree. I wake up the next morning and I find that Pix wasn’t with me.”

 

“Ahh.” Teemo said, putting the pieces together. However Teemo had a much harder time believing the way that Lulu was acting. Normally she was a much quirkier person than this, but something about this encounter made her a different person as of now.

 

“But I thank you Teemo, I really do.” Lulu said softly, grabbing Teemo’s shoulders. She looked into Teemo’s eyes. “And it’s good to see Kennen back. I don’t know what happened between you two before, but I hope it never happens again.” She said quietly, looking over towards Kennen who was sitting by the hole away from Garen and Tristana.

 

“It won’t Lulu, I promise you that. Whatever happened between me and Kennen is gone.” Teemo lied about that last part. It’s true, that night still hung around him like a dark cloud whenever he looked at Kennen. Lulu detected this, looking at him in disbelief.

 

“Good, because I never ever want to see the strongest relationship break up before my eyes ever again.” Lulu said, striking something in Teemo’s mind making him remember that. Suddenly Lulu blushed, her face twisting in an odd but cheeky smile.

 

“What?” Teemo asked.

 

“So… are you two… together again?” Lulu asked, laughing a bit at the question. Teemo sighed.

 

“No…” Teemo said, looking at Lulu wide eyed. Her expression didn’t change, like she was awaiting another response. Finally, Teemo gave in.

 

“Not yet.”

 

“Yay!” Lulu cheered, spinning in a circle once before landing back on her feet facing Teemo, already looking dizzy. “Now while you and Mr. Ninjaman over there settle each other out, I’m going to go check in on the big guy.” Lulu said, giving Teemo a smile before walking off towards Garen. Now this was the side of Lulu Teemo liked to see, the quirky and adorable side of her. Turning around he noticed Kennen sitting by himself at the edge of the hole. Teemo slowly made his way towards him, sitting down next to him and letting his legs dangle over the edge of the hole.

 

“How was that?” Kennen asked about their conversation, not looking Teemo in the eyes.

 

“It’s always an interesting conversation with Lulu.” Teemo said smirking and looking down. They sat quiet for a while not saying anything. It was awkward between the two, as well as they already had an exhausting day. Kennen looked up after some time, looking around them.

 

“I just realized, its like the entire family is here again. Me, you, Tristana, Lulu. All we need is Rumble and we’d be in our group again.” Kennen said. Teemo looked up at him. He always looked so peaceful when nostalgic. It was comforting. “Does Rumble still have a thing for -”

 

“Oh yeah, big time.” Teemo said laughing and finishing the sentence for him, knowing what he was talking about. Kennen chuckled a bit, turning back to Teemo. They looked into each others eyes for a while before Kennen came to a realization. His eyes widened, making Teemo give him a questioning look. Without saying anything, Kennen’s hand shot up to Teemo’s face, landing on his cheek lightly. Teemo blushed at the sudden move, but Kennen didn’t do anything but look into his eyes, with almost shock.

 

“How have I not noticed this before.” Kennen said quietly. Teemo now had an even more questioning look on his face.

 

“What do you mean?” Teemo asked.

 

“Your eyes… they are not the same color as before.” Kennen said, making Teemo only more confused. Whatever he was talking about, he had never noticed it himself before. Kennen sat there looking into Teemo’s sky blue eyes in wonderment, but also disappointment. Why?

 

“What do you mean?” Teemo asked. Kennen opened his mouth but was cut off by something else.

 

“Hello! Hey, is anyone up there!” A voice called. Teemo and Kennen looked at each other, wondering what the voice was. They looked back at Garen, Tristana, and Lulu, all having the same confused expression on their face. They looked around each other, but no one was there. They all looked at each other once again before coming to a mental consensus as to where the sound came from. Below. Simultaneously, they all looked down into the trench below them.

 

“Hello!?” The voice called again frantically. This time they noticed how the voice echoed off the walls. They all looked at each other hesitantly for a moment before Garen leaned his head over.

 

“Hello!” Garen called out.

 

“Hey can you tell me why the fuck a girl just fell down here!?” The voice yelled, obviously panicked by the situation.

 

“Long story.” Garen said, looking at the others and shrugging his arms. He didn’t really know what to say. “Is she ok?” Garen asked.

 

“Yeah…” The voice called, less confident this time which had Garen worried. “But she’s out cold right now. Probably knocked out from the water she fell into.” The voice said, making Garen raise an eyebrow.

 

“Well at least we know she’s ok.” Tristana said, nerved by the situation.

 

“Can you get her out of there?” Garen asked to the unknown voice below.

 

“I’m going to stay with her for now until she wakes up. Once she does though, we’ll make our way upwards.” The voice said. Garen was nervous about that, not knowing who the man was and to trust him or not. “Until then, the entrance to this cave connects to a road just… north of here I’m guessing. You should make your way over there and we’ll meet up at the entrance.” The voice finished. Garen leaned his face away from the hole now.

 

“Well, at least we know where we’re going now.” Kennen said. He looked between everyone. Teemo had gotten up and began to pace back and forth behind them. Tristana was still sitting next to Garen. “Well, what now?” Kennen asked, looking over at Teemo. He was thinking, and thought a bit longer before finally deciding.

 

“Tristana, you don’t mind escorting Lulu back to Bandle City, do you.” Teemo asked.

 

“Of course not.” Tristana said, getting up and heading over towards Lulu.

 

“Good… Ok.” Teemo muttered to himself. “Ok, so me, Kennen, and Garen head off to look for this cave. Tristana and Lulu are heading back to Bandle City. Tristana, can you please inform Poppy of what has happened so far, and by that I mean everything that’s happened so far.” Teemo said, putting emphasis on everything.

 

“Sounds like a plan.” Tristana said.

 

“Ok, then lets get going. Got no time to waste.” Teemo said, now everyone getting up from where they were. The fight and the time they spent here was a lot longer than they had thought. By now the sun was already already heading down, but the orange in the sky has yet to show. Teemo was gathering his stuff when Tristana came up and kneeled down next to him.

 

“You’re doing this just to spend some time along with Kennen, aren’t you?” Tristana asked, a smile creeping along her lips.

 

“Basically.” Teemo said, making him and Tristana laugh.

 

“Well I’m proud of you.” Tristana said, looking down and helping Teemo pack some stuff in his bag. Teemo smiled and looked down, continuing to do what he was doing.

 

“You sure you can get back safely?” Teemo asked.

 

“Of course, it’s me and Lulu. Plus I’m sure that it will be a very interesting conversation with her on the way back.” Tristana said, smiling at Teemo. “I wouldn’t be worried about me though. You should be worried about yourself and Kennen.”

 

“I know mom, I know!” Teemo said sarcastically making Tristana laugh again. He was pretty good at that, probably explaining why they were best friends. They both stood up.

 

“Go get ‘em tiger.” Tristana said last to Teemo, giving him a smile and patting him on the shoulder before walking away. Teemo looked back only to find Tristana and Lulu walking through the trees out of sight. He sighed, turning around to find Kennen and Garen packing their things up on the side. By the time Teemo had gotten to them, they were done.

 

“Are we all ready to go?” Teemo asked. Garen nodded.

 

“Yup.” Kennen replied.

 

“Then let’s go.” Teemo said, taking the lead with Kennen next to his side, Garen trailing slowly behind them. As they headed through the treeline, Kennen whipped out his satchel. Without digging through it for long, he tossed something up in the air to Teemo, which Teemo instinctively caught between his fingers. It was another shuriken.

 

“Keep it.” Kennen told Teemo, a smirk on his face. “You’re good with them.” Teemo didn’t respond at first, inspecting the shuriken.

 

“Why thank you.” Was all Teemo could say. Kennen didn’t respond to anything after that, making the rest of the walk quiet. However they could both feel the same sense between them. It was concerning how difficult it was for them to talk to each other, each of them still having the memory of that night looming around them like a dark cloud. Only sometimes Teemo would look at Kennen and Kennen would look at Teemo, but only a few times did it happen at the same time. When it did, it felt uncomfortable, almost awkward in a sense. Something needed to happen between the two…

 

That’s why tonight…

 

* * *

 

 

Sooner rather than later did the moon decide to rise. It was a cold night, few clouds circling in the air to cover the moonlight and shimmer from the bounty of stars that scattered the sky. The air only barely touched the fur of the yordles and the skin of the human before ricocheting off into a new direction, continuing to rebound off of trees until the air eventually made their way back to them again. It was a full moon, which caused the light from the moon to be greater than ever before as it stretch across the forest that they traverse. It was a silent night, the only sounds were footsteps from the venturers wandering the forest at night. The moon wasn’t at its peak yet before the group decided to set up camp for the night in the middle of the forest.

 

A campfire was lit in the center of them all, crackling as sparks from the fire occasionally flew into the air. There was nothing else to eat except for Teemo’s mushrooms for the third night in a row for them. Slicing it into pieces, Kennen used a stick to put slices of mushrooms onto them for all of them, making nice mushroom kabobs as they held it over the fire to let it cook.

 

“Are you ok Garen?” Kennen finally asked after the hour or so of silence between the,.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Garen said, looking up at the yordle. “Why? Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“It’s just that you seem so unphased by what happened today.”  Kennen said quietly, trying to make it sound not too direct. Garen laughed at his question, which took him by surprise.

 

“Kennen, just because I’m… well me… doesn’t mean I still have much to learn.” Garen said, almost relaxed, leaning back a bit. “What you said to me today, I believe it. The only thing I can do is to have faith in my sister and believe in her. That’s what we did today for Teemo as well, we all had faith in him.” Garen said, pointing over towards Teemo.

 

“Well, the only thing that kept me alive was Lulu’s spell -” Teemo began but Garen cut him off.

 

“Nonsense. If we all didn’t have faith in you, you wouldn’t have a purpose in living. If we all didn’t care for you and believe in you, you wouldn’t be here right now.” He said, almost strictly as he trying to get his point across. “Teemo, honestly, you are the mind and body representation of you and your people. Your personality keeps everyone in Bandle City driven to what they do best, and that is to live on. You demonstrated that perfectly today.” Garen said, now leaning in a bit. Teemo listened intently, a smile coming upon his face.

 

“And Teemo, I think I know who has the most faith in you.” Garen began again, this time turning and gesturing to Kennen who had just blushed. “Kennen, today I may have witnessed the most amazing thing ever in my career today, and that is what you did for Teemo. From that I can tell you have strength, not only in power but by feeling. You kept yourself and Teemo alive in an almost impossible to live situation. Now I don’t know how you managed to do it, but your heart is that of the tempest: strong.” Garen said. Kennen didn’t know what to think of this and neither did Teemo. All they knew was that Garen had taught them a thing or two about themselves that they had yet to fully realize until now. A smile was upon both of the yordles faces now. Garen leaned back now, putting his hands behind his head. He chuckled at a thought and smiled widely.

 

“Lux was right, you two do have something special between each other. I’m a tough nut to crack when it comes to talking about emotions with people other than my sister, but I think you two have split me cleanly open. Now I don’t know what happened between you two before but just know, you have my approval.” Garen said with the widest smile Teemo and Kennen have seen him give so far. With that he got up from where he was. “Now if you guys don’t mind I’m going to get some sleep. Today’s been a long and tiring day.”

 

“Go ahead.” Teemo said, nodding. With that, Garen crept over to his sleeping bag, slipped in it, and instantly started snoring.

 

“Wow…” Was all Teemo could say after that. Kennen looked over to him.

 

“Alot to take in, huh.” Kennen said quietly, Teemo nodded. They sat there in silence for a few moments.

 

“Are we really that important though?” Teemo questioned.

 

“I think we are, we just haven’t come to realize it yet.” Kennen noted. Teemo nodded, turning his face to look at him. Kennen, feeling his gaze, returned sight. Teemo gave off a shy smile, which made Kennen laugh a bit. In reality however, this was just another awkward moment between the two.

 

“Well uh… I think I’m going to go get some sleep.” Teemo said coyly.

 

“Yeah… me too.” Kennen said. It still took them a moment to actually get up and for them to walk over to their sleeping bags which weren’t too far away from each other. With a thump, both of them practically jumped into their sleeping bags. Teemo rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around himself.

 

“Goodnight Teemo.” Kennen said from the side.

 

“Goodnight Ken.” Teemo said softly, closing his eyes.

 

It was almost too tempting to say “I love you”.

 

* * *

 

 

_“Hey Trist.” I called over to her, who just happened to be here. She was dressed casually, wearing a white tank-top and black shorts._

 

_“Hey Teemo, didn’t expect you here all by yourself this late.” Tristana said._

 

_“I’m not supposed to be here by myself.” I said. I turned myself around to look inside the restaurant. I saw the dim lights making the place look so romantic, it was almost a dream but an embarrassment to go into by yourself. “Have you seen Kennen? He was supposed to go out to dinner with me today.” I asked, worried._

 

_“Not at all.” Tristana said, shaking her head. This only made me more worried. I began pacing back and forth. Tristana noticed my concern, not knowing what to say. “If it helps, you should go check over at his place. It’s not too far from here.” She said. I stayed silent, not knowing if I should or not._

 

_“He hasn’t been himself lately.” I said. Tristana looked at me confused._

 

_“What do you mean?” She asked perplexed._

 

_“I don’t know how to describe it. He’s seemed nervous whenever he’s been talking to me lately.” I said. I didn’t want to go more in-depth into it even though I’ve seen him do even more strange things lately._

 

_“That’s weird…” Tristana said, trailing off. I turned around to look inside the restaurant. I could see the table that we were supposed to sit at._

 

_“I’m going to go look for him.” I said. I couldn’t contain it anymore. I was too curious._

 

_“Ok…” Was all Tristana said before I headed off past her. I walked down the street, noticing that I was walking faster the more and more I thought about it. Some people looked at me, wondering why I was walking so fast. I could ask myself the same thing. Why did I feel nervous? I know Kennen very well, I knew he could take care of himself. Even still though, he shouldn’t be this late and I shouldn’t be this nervous, yet I was. I can’t explain the feeling, I was feeling all jittery, but not in a good way._

 

_I rounded the sharp corner, coming face to face with another row of apartment buildings. Tristana’s was on the right hand side about half-way down the street. The lights were on inside, meaning that she wasn’t planning on staying out long. On the left hand side were the apartments of Ziggs and Rumble, Rumble’s apartment being easily noticed on the bottom floor by his exclusive and exquisite garage, even though inside it was pretty unorganized. Rounding the corner again the street continued on for the same length as the last, this time though it had an ending. At the end of the street was Kennen’s house. For only a single yordle it seemed large for just him, however it was bought for him, Akali, and Shen for whenever they would visit. It was an ordinary two story house._

 

_The lights in their house were off. I could tell, you would be able to see them on through the window at this late at night. This had me worried. I walked up their wooden front porch, stepping up the stairs as they creaked under my feet, and knocked on their door. After a minute of waiting, no one came to answer the door. This had me worried. I knocked on it again, still no response. I tried a few more times, expecting someone to come but no one ever did. Then I remembered what Kennen had told me. Stepping back a bit, a lifted up the doormat and there was a spare key to the house. Quickly snatching it up, I unlocked the door and opened it._

 

_What I saw scared me. The house. The living room seemed to be completely void of any life in it. It seemed as if someone packed up and left as quickly as they could. No lights were on and the place seemed as if it hadn’t been occupied in a few hours. But that had to be impossible! I saw Kennen today, I knew Shen and Akali were staying here and at least one of them would stay to take care of the home if they did anything. This would’ve been the first time they were all out of the house at night. Quickly I ran up the stairs. I opened the door to Shen’s bedroom, no one was there. Akali’s room, nothing. Kennen’s room… empty._

 

_I panicked. I ran down the stairs and out of the house, slamming the door behind me. I couldn’t think straight, I couldn’t think about anything right now except what I just saw. Why was the house empty? It didn’t look natural. I ran down the street this time, rounding the corner back again. I had my head down when I almost ran straight into Tristana. She was coming back from wherever she was with a bag in her hand._

 

_“Is everything ok Teemo?” Tristana said worried about me. She could see the concern in my face._

 

_“Kennen’s house, it’s empty.” I said hurriedly, jumping on my feet a bit. “I’m going to check my house. Maybe he went there.”_

 

_“Teemo, let me come.” Tristana said. I stopped her._

 

_“No, if anything goes wrong I will come to you.” I said, raising my hand up. Without waiting for a response, I walked past her._

 

_“You better come to me Teemo!” Tristana yelled at me before I turned the corner. My house was on the opposite side of Bandle City, however it wasn’t a very long walk to get there, especially since I knew every shortcut to get there. I walked through every alleyway, cutting the time to get to my house probably in half. My house was more noticeable than the others around mine, only because I actually took the time to decorate mine. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my housekey, almost ramming myself into the door before I was able to unlock and open it. I walked in and slammed the door behind me, my heart racing. I looked around, all the lights were off, just like a left it. However there was no sign of Kennen being there._

 

_I sighed, exhausted from all of the running around I was doing. I decided to give in. I couldn’t stand walking back out there and waiting for him again, it was almost midnight and our dinner was supposed to happen a couple hours ago. Carelessly, I took off my jacket and threw it onto the living room couch. I hung my head down, disappointed and still worried by the events that happened tonight. Slowly I walked towards my room and opened my door. My room was as dull as ever, I thought in my gloom mood. A single bed, a few bookshelves, and my lamp that was on…_

 

_Wait… I didn’t leave any lights on._

 

_I immediately froze in my doorway at the realization. How could that happen? Suddenly I noticed something. I piece of paper lay on my bed, neatly folded in half. Taking a deep breath, I walked up towards the piece of paper. I sat down on my bed and picked it up. I looked at it for a second to before unfolding it. I was traumatized to what the note said._

 

_“I’m Sorry._

_\- Kennen”_

 

* * *

 

 

“Psst! Hey, wake up!”

 

Teemo woke to a jolt of unexplainable feelings. His heavy eyes shot open, red from his restless night. He was panting heavily, his chest heaving up and down fast. His arms felt heavy and sweat was dripping from his forehead. But he awoke to something nudging him on the shoulder. In reaction, he quickly rolled himself over and shot upwards, still sitting when he came face to face with a concerned Kennen.

 

“Wha- What just - What…” Teemo managed to say, still shaken up from what happened. Kennen placed both of his hands on both of Teemo’s shoulders, preventing him from shaking.

 

“Teemo, it’s ok! Calm down! You had a nightmare.” Kennen said, shaking Teemo’s body a bit to try and get him back to his senses. Teemo shook his head, opening his eyes again to Kennen.

 

“Damn right I had a nightmare.” Teemo mustered, shaking his head again. He seemed to have regained most of his senses at this point, but Kennen still looked at him worried.

 

“I came back to see you tossing, turning, and sweating, clenching your eyes completely shut. I knew something was wrong.” Kennen said, taking Teemo’s hands in his now.

 

“Yeah…” Teemo hummed. “Wait, you went somewhere?” Teemo asked, suddenly confused by what he said.

 

“Oh yeah…” Kennen said shyly, blushing a bit as he did so. He stood up. “I went out and found something that I wanted to show you. I came back to wake you up.” Kennen said slowly, offering him his hand. Teemo eyed him for a second before taking his hand, helping Teemo stand up. He was still a bit jittery from his nightmare but he was fine. Looking over he saw Garen, still sound asleep. Curious he looked up, only to find that the moon had just now reached its peak height, standing right above them showering the area with its ivory light.

 

“What are you going to show me?” Teemo asked.

 

“You’ll see.” Was all Kennen replied with. He wanted to ask more but couldn’t when Kennen grabbed his wrist and dragged him along. The forest is a peaceful place at night, especially with the moonlight granting vision of what would’ve otherwise been pitch black. With the light you could see how the plant life around them rested, they leaves of the trees swaying in the crisp night air, and the starlight reflecting off of puddles that lay scattered on the ground from a previous rainshower. The forest was completely silent at this time of night. Not a sound could be heard except the footsteps of the two yordles walking through the forest.

 

It didn’t take long for the two to reach their destination. A small outcropping in the forest made the moonlight light the red carpet to a cliffside just beyond the trees. Spreading flat out near the edges of the cliff was a blanket, cleanly set up by Kennen, along with his satchel. Kennen skipped across the grass towards it, plumping himself down on it. He spun himself around, looking at Teemo with a playful smile on his face. He patted the spot next to him, gesturing for Teemo to sit. Slowly, Teemo made his way towards the blanket, sitting himself down on the soft material. He looked at Kennen, who had now begun to lay down, his head away from the cliffside. Kennen looked at him, raising his arm up and pointing over the cliffside. Teemo’s gaze followed Kennen’s finger. He crawled up to the edge of the cliffside and saw what Kennen was talking about.

 

It was a miraculous view. It was a high cliffside, giving him full view as to everything past the forest. What stood off in the distance was a sight that Teemo had never ventured out this far to see. Mount Gargantuan, the great chain of mountains that separate north and south Valoran, more commonly known as the Great Barrier. It was a sight to behold. He could see the very peak of the highest mountain, scraping the clouds with its grace. Not only that, from here Teemo could also see the Mogron Pass, the split in the center of the mountains that allowed travelers to gain entry to either part of Valoran. It was grand. Not only was it such an amazing view, but also because much has happened here in the past. Legends and stories have all derived from the great mountains, the most common myth being the sun goddess, the moon goddess, and the spartan.

 

“Wow…” Teemo let out, enjoying the view very much so. Without noticing, Kennen crept up to him on his side, laying down next to him.

 

“You like?” Kennen asked. Teemo could only nod, his mouth agape at the view. Kennen laughed at this. “You’ve never been this far out, have you?”

 

“No… my missions normally revolve around Bandle City. None of them have taken me out this far.” Teemo said, still staring at the mountains in awe. Kennen pointed again in front of Teemo’s eyes.

 

“Look there. Do you see something?” Kennen asked. Teemo looked over towards Kennen was pointing. It was a different part of the mountain, except this time much lower than the last. The peaks towered only a small distance over where they were at now. There was a break in the ridges however. Teemo looked to see what Kennen was talking about. It was a detail so small the scout had to squint his eyes to see it and was surprised Kennen found it. There was a light seeping through the cracks of the mountains.

 

“Lights…” Teemo said quietly. He didn’t have to look to know that Kennen was nodding. Teemo pondered to what they could be, coming up with the only possible conclusion.

 

“Are those the lights -”

 

“To Demacia?” Kennen finished for him. “They are. You can see the busting city lights from here.” Kennen said, looking at the lights himself. They stayed and stared out at the view for a while longer, both of them taking in the beauty. Even at night you can see the snow pile up on the tips of the mountains. It was a wondrous view.

 

“This is unforgettable.” Teemo said, leaning back from the cliff a bit now. Kennen stayed, enjoying the view for a bit longer. “Everything that has happened these past few days… its almost too much.”

 

“How so?” Kennen asked, turning his head to Teemo. Teemo now lay back on the blanket, stretching himself out across it.

 

“Well I’ve met the two most amazing humans that I’ve ever met.” Teemo said, obviously referring to Garen and Lux. “And I also got to see you again.” Teemo now looked at Kennen.

 

“And is that a good or a bad thing?” Kennen asked.

 

“So far it has been a good thing.” Teemo said, a smile trickling across his face allowed Kennen to laugh again. It was always amazing to Teemo as to how much Kennen could laugh at. He was very boisterous in that sense. Kennen now got up, turning and walking towards Teemo. He sighed.

 

“This outfit can be so hot sometimes.” Kennen complained. Teemo raised an eyebrow, looking up to see that Kennen was already stripping the upper half of his body of the purple ninja garb. He pulled it over his head with ease, revealing a plain white tank top underneath. He slowly worked off the purple pants, showing that he wore plain black shorts underneath to compliment his shirt. He threw the purple attire aside, landing on his satchel as he sat down next to Teemo. Turning his head he noticed Teemo staring at him with a cheeky smile. “What?” He asked.

 

“Showing off now are we?” Teemo said with a playful laugh. It always surprised Teemo at how different he looked without his ninja outfit on. The purple garb covered up so much of his body. It was thick as well, showing Kennen to be much wider than he actually was. Underneath the fabric was a completely different looking person. He was much skinnier without the garb, revealing his, for a yordle, muscular tone of body. Now you could easily tell that his and Teemo’s fur colors are pretty much identical. Turns out Teemo’s mushrooms haven’t changed him much after all.

 

“What? Do I look different?” Kennen said, looking down to observe himself. Teemo laughed.

 

“No, you look fine.” Teemo said as Kennen looked back at Teemo with a sly grin. He knew that Kennen was a god of sarcasm, he just liked to play along. Kennen knelt down and lay himself on the blanket next to Teemo. Together they lay and looked up at the stars as they glistened peacefully above them.

 

“What was the nightmare about?” Kennen asked boldly, breaking the peaceful silence between the two. Teemo’s body stiffened at the subject.

 

“It was nothing.” Teemo tried to blow it off. It didn’t work.

 

“No,it’s not nothing. You’ve had trouble with nightmares in the past and I know your reaction the best when it comes to them.” Kennen said. This was true, Kennen and Tristana were the only people to know about Teemo’s past nightmares and how constantly he had them. They never ended well. The only thing to relax him about it was to talk about it. Teemo sighed.

 

“It was about that night…” He didn’t have to go into anymore depth to know what he was talking about. The night Kennen left. Kennen turned his body towards Teemo, who was clenching his eyes shut.

 

“What about it?”

 

“Everything.” Teemo replied slowly. Kennen nodded. They stayed silent with that for a while, Kennen staring at Teemo and Teemo looking up into the sky. The silence was broken when Teemo heard a sniffle. He rolled his head over to see Kennen, his eyes pooling tears. It was clear he was trying his best to hold them back.

 

“Believe me Teemo when I say that night is as clear in my head as it is yours.” Kennen said, his voice shaking. “It was a night where after it was all done I could never forgive myself for, and it was something you forgave me so easily for.” A tear eventually broke through, rolling down his face and getting caught on the fur on his cheek. His next line took Teemo off guard.

 

“Why? Why did you jump in front of me to save me today?” Kennen said, this time bursting out into tears. He had to cover his eyes, too embarrassed and emotional to look at Teemo in the eyes. “Why did you save me when I did something so horrible to you, that you should’ve never forgiven me for! I don’t deserve to live like this when I know I did that to you!” Kennen yelled at this point, releasing all of his stress.

 

“Kennen…” Teemo said quietly, low enough for Kennen not to hear. It tore him to see Kennen like this, it practically ripped his soul out. Seeing Kennen being eaten away at by guilt was something Teemo dreaded to see. He did not want this to happen.

 

“I just don’t understand! I can’t live with myself after knowing that I did that to you! It pains me knowing that every night I go to sleep having done such a horrid thing! And it shames me to know that I will never be -”

 

However Kennen was cut off when Teemo swiftly broke Kennen’s hold on his eyes, grabbed his face, and planted his lips onto Kennen’s. Teemo pushed into Kennen, kissing him with every bit of feeling he had pinned up inside. Kennen jumped a bit, not yet familiar with the feeling of Teemo’s lips pressed up against his. It was a feeling foreign to both of them, yet felt so good once again. Kennen fell into the trance, kissing back at Teemo. Every ounce of guilt and regret flushed away from him in an instance, leaving him in a state of pleasure and ecstasy for the first time in a long time. It was disappointing when Teemo pulled back on the kiss, leaving Kennen starstruck.

 

“My lover?” Teemo said, finishing the sentence for him. They both looked into each others eyes, both flourishing in the state that they were in. Teemo moved his hands down Kennen’s back, pulling him closer to him.

 

“Kennen… a year ago I made a promise with you to always protect you. Then and forever.” Teemo said with the warmest eyes and smile Kennen has ever seen. “I’m a man of my word. I never go back on my promise. Today I fulfilled my promise by saving you, and today you kept your promise by saving both of us.” Teemo took a deep breath and started again.

 

“What Garen said about you today… he described you perfectly. You are the strongest and most affectionate yordle out of us all. You are the reason that we fight another day, and you are the reason that I am alive right now.” Teemo said, every ounce of emotion pouring out of his voice. Kennen’s eyes held back more tears, however this time they weren’t tears of guilt. This time they were tears of joy, a feeling Kennen hasn’t felt in a while.Teemo looked down, giving off a small chuckle. “However, he did leave out one very important detail.”

 

“What is it?” Kennen asked, bring his hand down to Teemo’s face and lifting it up so that they looked into each others eyes again. Teemo smiled.

 

“You’re mine.”

 

Kennen couldn’t hold the urge back any longer. Knowing that there wouldn’t be any consequences, he leaned his head in and kissed Teemo. This time the kiss was slow, both of them absorbing every aspect and enjoying every moment of it. Both of them remembering what the other tasted like, how it felt, the ecstasy of the moment. A feeling that they thought was gone forever now returned, better than ever.

 

Kennen pulled back, letting himself breathe for a moment. He opened his eyes, seeing Teemo’s in returned, but this time something was different. An aspect of Teemo that Kennen had only recently thought was lost was held not to be true. Kennen’s smile became wider than ever at seeing it. Slowly Kennen brought his hand up and placed it right next to Teemo’s eye. It only made Teemo that much more beautiful.

 

His eyes… they were now a bright shade of purple, Kennen’s favorite color.

 

There was only one possible explanation to what caused this change.

 

Love.

 

“There’s something magical about you Teemo…” Kennen managed to say, still adoring his now magnificent purple eyes. “I’m not quite sure what it is, but it makes you even that more special to me.” Kennen said, choking up on a few of his words. This feeling, it truly was foreign to him. He was glad it returned. Kennen wrapped his arms around Teemo, pulling him closer to himself. Teemo’s head lay on Kennen’s shoulder when they rolled over and looked up at the stars together, still holding each other tightly. The stars sparkled above them, even them knowing that something special had just happened.

 

“This reminds me of our first date.” Teemo said quietly. Kennen, intrigued, rolled his head over to look at Teemo.

 

“Go on.” Kennen said. Teemo noticed the commitment in his voice and laughed a little.

 

“Well we had just come back from eating out… and then we agreed to go watch the stars on my roof.” Teemo said, a bit nostalgic from the memory.

 

“Yes…” Kennen said, with the same tone of voice. Teemo rolled his head over to look at Kennen, blushing when he finally realized what he wanted him to say.

 

“And then we… made out.” Teemo said, but couldn’t help laugh at how oddly he said it, making Kennen laugh as well.

 

“And how did that feel?” Kennen said, exploring the purple in Teemo’s eyes.

 

“Great…” Teemo said, smiling at him. They both stayed that way for a while, exploring each others eyes, something Kennen couldn’t get enough of. Teemo’s eyes were now mesmerizing to him, the bright shade of purple bursting and blossoming to Kennen like a flower.

 

“I think it’s safe to say that we’ve been caught in a poison again.” Teemo said. Kennen smiled, knowing what he was referring to.

 

“Oh really?” Kennen asked, Teemo nodded against his shoulder. “And how does that feel?”

 

“Well you don’t realize it at first.” Teemo said, moving his body a bit. “Once you’re infected the first symptoms are a tingling sensation in your body, along with your stomach fluttering like a million tiny butterflies.” Teemo said, now grabbing Kennen’s side and stroking it, as if demonstrating the spread. Kennen closed his eyes. “And then slowly your body begins to feel warm at its presence. It spreads, travelling all over your body before it reaches your head.” Teemo said slowly, traveling his hand up Kennen’s fur before reaching the back of his head. Teemo pulled himself closer to him. “But you can feel the warmth strongest in the heart.” He placed his other hand onto Kennen’s heart. He could feel his heart racing inside him. “At this point there’s no denying it. The poison has fully engulfed you and there’s no cure. What would you do?” Teemo asked, pressing his forehead up against Kennen’s. Kennen now opened his eyes, his only centimeters away from Teemo’s. He knew there was only one possible answer for his question.

 

“I would let it infect me.” Kennen answered, a smile spreading across each others lips as Teemo leant his head in, kissing for the third time that night.

 

“I love you Teemo, now and forever.”

 

“I love you Kennen, now and forever.”

 

And that was a night certainly both of them will never forget.

 


	11. Chapter 10: Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Transition Chapter. Short and Sweet. New characters introduced.

_Unknown date. Unknown time._

 

This place… it didn’t feel right. White, steel solitary confinement walls barred away any other sort of humanity. A small room, nothing in it except the singular light bulb flickering constantly and swaying above his head, and the wooden chair he was sitting in. It felt… evil. He would describe it as a preposterous measure of uncertainty of unexplainable proportions. But there was no time for him to think like that. Questions still remained. How did he get here? Why was he here? Who brought him here?

 

These questions scattered the old yordles mind, thinking for a solution to them faster than an armordillo. He had only woken up from a slumber that he did not recall falling into only a few long moments ago. Since then he has not heard anything except the creaking of the lightbulb above him, the dim light making it hard for him to make out any feasible and reachable objects around him even through his glasses. His heart raced, which was unusual for the old yordle. For the amount that he has been through in his life, he would expect even himself to not normally be afraid in a situation like this. His head slumped down, noting that his yellow hands and legs were rope bound to the chair like a prisoner of war, his body bound by a rope around his waist. People always commented on his very unusual body as a yordle. For a male yordle his body was supposed to be covered in a light coat of fur, however people looked at him oddly as it appeared he didn’t have any fur on his body. In fact, people commented on his body looking almost mechanical.

 

Frantically, the small yordle struggled, trying to shake his way out of his binds. However the more and more he tried, the more and more he got nowhere and the more and more the ropes binding his wrists became tighter. Sweat poured from his forehead, his breathing becoming ever more breathless, the more the rope carved itself into him. This body is not one of a muscleman. Why should he even try? His superior intellect surely toppled over the inferior one who had bound him to this wretched, splinter giving chair. Why if he had the sufficient materials, he would craft himself a cardboard machine gun, blowing through anyone in his way with paper bullets. But unfortunately he did not. In a feeble manner, he stopped his struggling, immediately feeling the backlash pain from the ropes that bound him. He inhaled and exhaled heavily, exhausted by his now pointless struggling. What could he do? There was no way for him to get out of this situation. He has, for the first time in his life, been legitimately captured. He slumped back in the human sized chair, hopeless and, for the first time, clueless on how to get out. His eyes scouted  the room once more, desperately looking for something that he could use to his advantage. However nothing came to vision, only the feeling of his pitiful failure and a slip in the wall in front of him…

 

Wait, slip? The yordle’s eyes shot up at this realization. How did he not notice this before? A clean line cut the wall directly in front of him, halving the barrier. He looked around the line, noticing two more lines cut through the wall on both sides of the line in the center. He took a second to observe what it was. Three exact proportional lines that cut through the wall cleanly and are on equal space away from each other, one line being in the center of the wall. There could only be one explanation for this.

 

 _“A door, hmm…”_ The old yordle thought in his mind. _“Clever, having the door camouflage in completely with the wall.”_ However there was still no hope. He had no means of getting to the door, opening up the door, and escaping this prison. Even if he had managed to escape, what is outside of this place? Where was he? Everything here is foreign to him, he had never been here before. But how would he know? The only things that surrounded him were metal, metal, and more metal.

 

Just then his eyes shot open at the sound of a loud bang, similar to the sound of dropping a cup of sorts. The sound seemed to reverberate off of the walls around him, echoing a few times before eventually stopping. Something was here. Again, another bang sound, followed by more and more every time one went off. His head spun as he tried to figure out where the sound was coming from, the sound starting in a different area every time. The sound persisted for a few seconds before finally something happened. The slip in front of him, it moved. Slowly, the wall in front of him began to separate, revealing something behind it. The door released a thin stream of smoke, obscuring the yordle’s vision. The door had fully opened when the figure behind it came fully into his view. When the smoke was gone, the yordle was at a loss of words.

 

A man appeared before him. He was adorned in full metal armor, covering his feet all the way up to his shoulders.Yellow metal lined the edges of the armor, a faded blue filling the areas that were unoccupied, all going from his leg armor with small and circular kneecaps up to his chest, which around was strapped a needlessly large shoulder pad that covered his left shoulder, bright and shiny silver outlining it. His face was replaced by metal, a metal mask had ridges tracing the areas of a face: the mouth, the nose, even the eyes, which were replaced by a glowing yellow light emitting where his eyes should be. With all this decor the back of his head was left completely exposed, letting his long and messy hair take in the air around him.

 

A brief sensation of cold air surrounded the yordle as the man walked through the door, the door automatically closing behind him and shutting off the yordle from any other form of life that might be here. The man’s steel boots clanked against the ground, allowing the silent room to be filled by the echoes of footsteps. Slowly the man approached, the yordle completely paralyzed by his presence. He knew much of this man… a demon to all of mankind. So much that to the extent that it bewildered him of his very existence, much to the fact that he was claimed dead many, many years ago. He stopped a few feet away from the yordle, looking down upon him deviously. The yellow where his eyes would be burned a hole through the yordle, and he couldn’t help himself from looking back at him. His face, every muscle and joint of it being mimicked by the metal mask that represented it. His eyes slimmed looking at the yordle, his expression eventually turning to a devilish smile.

 

“Now…” The man said, his voice morphed from the mask. “Shall we begin?”

 

With that, the floor’s surface opened up behind him, revealing a metal chair that was raising up from the ground. The floor shut around the legs of the chair, the man casually squatted back and sat in the chair. He eyed the yordle, both of his arms on the arms of the chair. The yordle didn’t say anything, many different thoughts racing through his mind. The one that was most prevalent: How?

 

“Now I believe introductions aren’t in order, both of us knowing each other quite well as a matter of fact.” The man stated, raising a mechanical eyebrow at the yordle.

 

“Why would they?” The yordle now said quietly, his aged voice showing. “I believe both of our status’s in this world are notable, yours being more profound to evolution than mine.” He said. The man chuckled at this.

 

“I agree… however that evolution never came to fruition, did it?” The man said, leaning forward now. The yordle did not respond.

 

“Over my over extended period of absence on this world, I see that man has took a step forward in technological advancements. I notice how you are one of the main reasons as to why man took this step.” The man said. The yordle gulped. “Now if you are the genius that I know you are, you can probably conclude as to why I took you from your home and brought you here today.”

 

“If you expect anything from me for you then you must be more of a fool than I already thought you were.” The yordle rebutted, tension rising in his voice. “Why should you expect anything from me after what you tried to do this world!? Your work of ‘progress’ is nothing but a lie, as all it progress’s in this world is suffering and pain! A true inventor would use his work for good, for justice! All you used yours for is destruction!”

 

“ENOUGH!” The man boomed, his voice loud enough it seemed to shake the room, his voice echoed off the walls long enough to practically make the yordle deaf. The man’s voice was strained, but with one quick breath all of the fierceness in his appearance and voice wore off.

 

“I know about your rants.” He said, more stern this time. “Make it so that they do not interfere with our more or less ‘formal’ conversation.” He said, now leaning back in his chair. He took another deep breath, this time seeming as if he released all of his tension.

 

“Now… how should I address you while we discuss our future? Professor… or Heimerdinger… or both?” The man questioned.

 

“My friends call me Heimy, so you can call me Heimerdinger.” Heimerdinger said wittingly. The man ignored the joke. “And how should I address you, the Machine Herald… or Viktor?”

 

“Both.” Viktor said, another smile creeping across his lips, liking it when people knew him by his righteously earned title.

 

“So Viktor, the Machine Herald, mind if I ask you a few questions before we start our ‘talk’?” Heimerdinger asked.

 

“Of course! Anything for a fellow scientist and inventor.” Viktor said, pulling off the nice-guy act.

 

“Where are we?” Heimer asked boldly.

 

“We are in one of my old laboratories, located here in Zaun.” Viktor answered, leaving a short pause afterwards.

 

“What do you plan on doing with me?” Heimer asked, his eyes going slim.

 

“I ask that you aid me in my quest, which should be obvious at this point.” Viktor said, Heimer cringing at the thought of helping him.

 

“Who brought you back?”

 

“That is something you nor anyone in this world will ever know.”

 

“Why are you telling me these things?”

 

“Because I know there’s nothing in this world that you can do to escape from me.” Viktor concluded, saying that last part menacingly. He got up from his chair now, circling around to the back of Heimerdinger. The room was so scarce of anything, Heimer could swear he could feel Viktor’s breath on the back of his neck even though he wasn’t close at all.

 

“I have already acquired one piece of technology that is now probably considered to some as an ancient artifact.” Viktor said ominously, circling back around to the front of Heimer. Heimer looked up, noticing that now he had something in his possession. With caution, Viktor held up something of a gem, emitting a strong red light that illuminated the room. However, upon closer inspection it seemed as if it was only part of a gem, seemingly a third of one.

 

“No…” Heimer couldn’t hold back saying. It was an awe for him to see it before his eyes. After all of the research he has done on it in the past, he didn’t imagine for it to be like this.

 

“I see you’re familiar with this.” Viktor said, sitting back down in his chair.

 

“An augment… to the Hex Core. One of three. The Hex Core, a device where if activated again and it fell into its owners again, it could cause evolution.” The yordle said awed, his mouth slightly ajar.

 

“So you’re not unfamiliar with my power.” Viktor said, clasping his hand over the gem and putting it away. Heimer shook his head, releasing himself from the trance that the gem had over him. He looked a little bit dazed afterwards.

 

“How could I not…” Heimer was ashamed to admit. Viktor stared at the yordle for a while as he hung his head down, not wanting to meet Viktor’s gaze. His gaze was questionable, wondering if Heimer was going to say something or not. When he eventually didn’t reply, Viktor stepped in again.

 

“There is also something else that I have gotten my hands on…” Viktor said, now gaining the yordles, Heimer now looking up. “A device… so strong that I don’t even know if I can properly control it.” This made Heimer worried.

 

“What is it?” Heimer questioned. After a brief pause, Viktor spoke again.

 

“A device that I have not attempted to use yet but when I do it will bring about catastrophe to this dimension.” He paused again, emphasising dimension. He waited until Heimer’s facial expression change at the horrible realization, when Viktor drew a slick smile across his lips.

 

“Upon my resurrection, Ionia was my first destination. Upon arrival I immediately found my goal.” With this he took out another gem now, this time more of a crystal, and held it out before Heimer. It was dark and emitted an eerie purple light. You could see the energy move within it.

 

“I took this an instantly turned back, not wanting to look back at the wretched island. From looking at this crystal I hope you can tell where this crystal has gathered its energy from.” Viktor said, looking at the terrified Heimer.

 

“But… but the only place you can gain that type of power here on Runeterra is -”

 

“Icathia? Why yes, it is.” Viktor finished for him, clasping his hands over the crystal and putting it away again.

 

“That’s impossible! No normal human being can go to Icathia and survive!” Heimer shouted, Viktor snickering a little.

 

“Who says I’m normal?” Viktor said, terrifying the yordle more. What he was saying was inhuman! There is no way that he had the capability to do that! Another devious smile crossing across his metal face, he leaned in again.

 

“Have you ever heard of the Prophet of the Void?” Viktor said, making Heimer instantly swallow at the name. “Do you know of his intentions… because I do. Let’s just say that me and him have… similar intentions.”

 

“Of what? Taking over all of Valoran? Overrunning Runeterra and using it as your own!” Heimer said, the terror finally trickling into his voice.

 

“Correct…” Viktor said nonchalantly, Heimer freezing at his calmness. “This crystal has a special magical power, the power to rip open a portal from Valoran to the Void. From that, its power will spread all across Valoran, infecting every nook and cranny of it. I’m sure the Prophet of the Void would very much appreciate my help at that.”

 

“But what about you?” Heimer asked, now a bit confused about his intentions. “You won’t have all the power, the Prophet will.”

 

“That was my mistake on my first attempt at evolution.” Viktor confirmed. “It was because I was foolish, I pride myself on my work and my success that I was oblivious to anyone but myself at the time. Now I learn from my mistakes. Conquering Valoran is not the feat of one man, but that of men who make a god.” Viktor said, Heimer not quite understanding the metaphor.

 

“Then what do you need me for?” Heimer asked, still confused.

 

“Ahh, I apologize. I completely forgot about you and you were sitting right in front of me this entire time.” Viktor said, reaching into his armor and taking out something else this time. A blueprint scroll. Viktor held the scroll up in front of Heimerdinger, releasing its hold and letting the blueprint unravel before him. Heimer stared at the design, his mouth going agape at what he saw.

 

“You expect me to use my inventions in your weapon of destruction!?”

 

“Well there’s nothing you can do now, can you?” Viktor said, making Heimer sigh. “Besides, I’ve always thought about having a partner with great technological success in crime, even if I do have to threaten him with death whenever he doesn’t do what I tell him to do.” Viktor threatened, making Heimer’s face go pale.

 

“But even if I do craft this, you don’t have the Hex Core. How do you plan on utilizing it?” Heimer asked.

 

“Well if my intel is correct, then Demacia is currently in possession of it. Them being too stupid to just destroy the thing already.” Viktor mocked. “Now who has a strong passion for destroying Demacia?”

 

“You’re mad!”

 

“You’re right!” Viktor confirmed, laughing at the comment towards himself. “With three mega powers on my side, there’s nothing that the rest of Valoran can do! My knowledge of Valoran and magic is enough to overthrow this world, and nothing that I know can stop me.” His voice picked up more and more he talked about it, an evil laugh creeping up on him. “These three powers will soon rule this planet: The Void, Technology, and…

 

...Noxus.”

 


	12. Chapter 11: Pride or Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New major character introduced. New setting introduced. New character conflict.

_“Forever strong”_ were the first words that flowed through her mind as she woke to the sun shining on her eyelids, recoiling at the bright light. A mandatory sort of phrase that she had to remember, a phrase that represented her and her people, the motto for her city. A title that every, even so careless, citizen of her city beheld, whether earned or not. In her mind, only the strong can survive, and that’s exactly how it happened most of the time. The one’s weak enough died, their eyes filling with blood as they died right before their families, knowing what was going to happen to them next. The lust of death loomed over the phrase, a verb that every assassin ever oh so patiently waited for to get their hands on, the sense of your victim’s blood on your hands, on your weapon, and no feeling of remorse whatsoever. But yet…

 

… why did she feel it?

 

She was the most famous assassin all across Noxus, the idol of all others, and the pinnacle of the word death across all of her citizens, yet she knew remorse? Regret? Emotion? No… it couldn’t be. How could one who had such reputation know what it meant to feel… the cruel affection towards killing others and yet she knew how to feel for them? An action that she was specifically trained not to ever feel: emotion, but she learned… no, no one can learn not to feel. They are only born with it; in fact, everyone is born with feelings.

 

The rising sun burned her skin after a long night’s sleep under her covers, shielded away from society with her door being closed and a comforter pulled over her body with the exception of a window next to her bed. Four refined, wood walls boxed her in her room, her door closed keeping her away from anything outside it. But there she sat up, lazily stretching her arms upwards, attempting to wake up. Her eyes were skinny at her awakening, her cyan eyes not shining as bright as they would normally, but still very noticeable. She was a very lazy person in the morning, and it was slightly comical. Her hands up in the air, she let her head fall back on her pillow, her hands hitting the wood wall behind her making a loud bang. When her head hit the pillow, she felt like she hit something else as well. Remembering, she rolled over, stuck her hand underneath the pillow, and took out her trusty and signature daggers that she kept under her bed just incase anyone tried anything. She held them up in front of her, flipping them over and observing their architecture. It was, to her, the perfect blade. The curves on them as perfect as her waist, the edging meant to slit peoples throats, the blades were meant to kill.

 

She flipped them over once more, catching both in her right hand. This time she sat up on the side of her bed, the comforter off of her. Still in a tired trance she faced her door, dressed in her pajamas which were a white fur coated bra and shorts with a long, white tail flowing from her bosom resembling a cat; an outfit that (thankfully) no one knew about. Stretching once more, she got up from where she was, turning to face the rest of her room. It was truly much more room than she needed, most of the floor not being occupied by anything but space. She walked over to her wardrobe which was casually placed against the wall. Opening it she revealed her sense of fashion, which in reality, wasn’t much. There wasn’t much in there, only a few different outfits and her favorite, her assassin outfit. It wasn’t much, quantity taken. It mainly revolved around her in black shorts, belted around with an arsenal of knives and daggers, and a short top meant to reveal the rest of her body, all black which complemented her red hair very well. Slowly she stripped out of her cat pajamas and slipped the outfit on, stuffing her pajamas towards the back of her wardrobe just in case someone would go through there. With everything acquainted, she made the way to the front of the room and opened it. Large redwood walls stretched out a hallway and a red carpet lit a path for her to follow, leading her straight down to an indoor balcony overviewing the first room to her house. Home, she called it, others referred to it as the Du Couteau Manor, one of the largest houses in the residential district of Noxus.

 

 _“No sign of my sister.”_ She thought to herself as she stepped down the stairs, her sister living in the same building as her. They grew up together, bonded well and sometimes argued to the death with each other, witnessed tragic fates together, like her sister’s transformation. _“Probably still sleeping.”_ She thought again, as her sister did have more complicated sleeping arrangements than her. Without much direction, she opened the front door to her house and stepped outside.

 

Noxian air, the mixed smell of sweat, blood, and effort every day, with just a slight hint of satisfaction. It was a quiet neighborhood, quite boring to her. Everyone turtled within their houses until marketing time, when the markets in the main square opened up, a trip she would only take once every month. She stepped down the steps and onto the gravel road, the feeling of small rocks beneath her shoes. No one was out at this time as she expected. The houses lined the street, all of them as pale and as not interesting as the last. The government didn’t care about beauty, as long as citizens had a place to live and eat that was a comfortable environment, it was fine to them. However, that didn’t mean that Noxus does not have a sense of style. She looked up in the air, opposite of the direction of where she was looking before, and saw her destination. A fortress towered high in the sky, the tip spiraling up as high as a mountain. It was the key to Noxus, the base of everything political, which in Noxus, everything political was militaristic. It was Noxian High Command.

 

She had a barracks stationed in there, one that she had not stayed at much of recently. The last time she was in there was the day that she told the general to fuck off about staying in the barracks, her packing her stuff and leaving for her home. An attitude that the general was not surprised to see, in fact most likely expected from her. However she served him, the general to all orders of power in Noxus. Without guidance, she began walking there, expecting to be an order like there was normally. A mission to kill, an event to go to, a party to obliterate, you name it. It could range from anything A to Z in terms of insanity. She passed a few civilians on her way there, them backing away at the sight of her. Her reputation was surely renowned all throughout Noxus and Demacia as a matter of fact, the same was of Garen, the Might of Demacia.

 

She crossed the drawbridge leading into the fortress, the guards immediately letting her through and bypassing their normal procedure of checking everyone upon entering. The doors flung open, revealing the innards of the fortress, from the inside looking like a royal castle. On all balconies within it hung down the Noxian flag, people scattered about going about their business, some huddled in groups collaborating. She recognized most of these people as commoners within the fortress, the most notable one was the red suit of the hemomancer Vladimir as he was in the corner of the large room communicating with some of his followers. People recognized her too, a feeling known all too well by her at this point. Some would look over and glance at her, then immediately turn back and notify his or hers friends of her arrival. She scowled at these people, sometimes laughed too at their incompetence at approaching her, but was mad about her inability to change anything about it. Her reputation preceded her, and that is something that will never change.

 

Ignoring any sort of eye contact she headed right into a corridor, passing a few minor offices, straight into a large spiral staircase. It was a long feat upwards from there, her command post being at the very top of the fortress. “A Thousand Steps of Glory”, they liked to call it, however she changed the name for herself to “A Thousand Steps of Pointless Endeavors”. At the very top was the main core of Noxian High Command. Everyone up there was a familiar face to her, some my even be considered her friends. Upon arrival, others that were in the small room looked up at her, some with satisfaction on their faces which confused her. Most of them were huddled around a large table with fake plastic army figures to plot out their attack on Demacia, which was bound to happen. However there was something a bit different this time. Most of their forces were plotted around the middle, as if they were going to do a full on assault on Demacia without regard to guards. The north and south sides of the board were completely clean, but she still heard strategists refer to something there called “our ally”.

 

Walking past the table her eyes met sight on a doorway, the doorway to the command room, where everything between the general and his top military strategists happened. It was mostly for private conversations, conducting new plans of a secret origin and the general’s main office. Right now it appears that there was a meeting happening as of now. She could tell, there was someone guarding the door, a person she could call a friend even though his remarks and inappropriate jokes could take him over from time to time. This person was none other than Draven, the Glorious Executioner. She walked up to him, expecting to hear a witty joke that he always put towards her, sometimes she could laugh at them even though most of the time she couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. Although the man paid no attention to her, seeming to be lost in his thoughts, which surprised the assassin, seemingly because he doesn’t seem to have a brain most of the time.

 

“What? No comments for me today Draven?” She said, snickering as she stepped in front of him. This seemed to knock him out of his thoughts, shaking his head and looking up at the woman in front of him.

 

“Sorry Katarina, that ass of yours doesn’t deserve a proper compliment after what knowledge has just been past to me.” Draven said, sort of ominously and not laughing at his own joke. Katarina raised an eyebrow, Draven not acting like his normal self is something she has not seen before.

 

“What’s on your mind executioner?” She asked. It was something she wouldn’t normally ask, but she felt it was appropriate. He looked up at her.

 

“Why don’t you step inside and find out.” Draven said, gesturing her towards the door. She turned herself to face the doorway.

 

“Who’s in there?” Katarina asked.

 

“Big Bro and General Dickwad.” Draven replied. He didn’t like the general too much. Him and him have had their disagreements.

 

“What’s your brother doing in there?” She asked again wondering.

 

“After he told us what is happening, I was speechless for the first time in forever. Darius kicked me out, wanting to discuss a few things with him.” Draven said, sighing at the last part. She nodded, looking towards the doorway, pausing for a second. “Don’t be shy honey,they won’t mind. Trust me.” Draven said to her. She nodded as she took the doorknob and opening the door.

 

The room was only a bit smaller than the room she was just in previously, even though this room looked luxury compared the other one. Candles hung from the walls, illuminating the polished wood tile and walls, as well as the numerous bookcases that bordered the walls. In the very middle of the room was a wide desk, on it scattered were numerous papers and books, all of which served some sort of militaristic purpose. A single chair sat behind the desk, but no one was sitting in it. Instead, there were two bodies standing behind the desk turned away from the door. The first was a large and buff man, adorned in very heavy armor and spikes emerging from his shoulderpads and kneepads. His weapon, a giant cutthroat axe, sat in the corner against the wall. The second was a smaller but more intelligent man, dressed in a green robe with steel plated yellow armor attached. He wielded a walking stick which in all reality was actually his staff. His pet, a large and demonic raven named Beatrice, skulked in the corner of the room, hidden atop a bookcase. The two turned to look at her as soon as she opened the door. It was Darius, the Hand of Noxus, and General Jericho Swain.

 

“What a coincidence.” Darius muttered, turning his body to her, and so did Swain.

  
“You know your brother is lonely out there, you could at least give him a toy to play with.” Katarina joked, not receiving a laugh from them. She strutted forward.

 

“I imagine that you… didn’t have approval to come up here.” Swain said, putting his hand on his forehead.

 

“Nope.” She nonchalantly responded. In one quick motion she reached behind the desk, pulled out the chair from under it, and swung it under herself, falling back into it and almost falling back herself. “So, I heard you boys have something interesting that you’re talking about. Intrigue me.” She said, leaning forward and crossing her hands under her chin.

 

“Do we have to tell her?” Darius asked, almost complaining. He looked at Swain who was looking at her with his paralyzing red eyes.

 

“Why must we not?” Swain said. “The answer to telling the most formidable assassin in all of Noxus is a definite yes Darius, even though your relationship with her may not be the strongest.” Swain ended.

 

“Thank you!” Katarina said, looking at Darius who just rolled his eyes. But now her expression changed. Her eyes immediately became more serious as she set her hands down on the table in front of her. “Now cut the shit, what is happening?” Katarina asked in a serious tone. The two men noticed this change and reacted upon it.

 

“I must warn you now that what you’re about to hear may not be to your liking.” Swain warned, making Katarina perplexed.

 

“What do you mean?” She asked.

 

“He means to not let your overwhelming pride get the better of you.” Darius interrupted in his deep and stern voice. Katarina glared at him and so did he.

 

“Enough of you two! This is a serious manner! I don’t want to hear anymore of you two arguing during this conversation!” Swain yelled in complaint. Katarina and Darius immediately whimpered down, not wanting to aggravate him. They remember the last time he was deeply angered in Noxian High Command. Everyone in the room died. Swain took a deep breath and regained his composure.

 

“Now, I assume you know that in our current position we cannot go head on with Demacia. They have too many allies. If we decided to engage another premature battle with them then their allies would retaliate. Piltover, Bandle City, Freljord, you name it will all be out to attack us.” Swain stated. Katarina nodded her head. As much as it pained her to hear that Noxus was incapable, she had to accept it.

 

“So have you found a solution to this?” Katarina asked.

 

“Possibly.” He said slowly and uncertainly. Katarina raised an eyebrow at this, and could tell that Swain was slightly nervous about telling her. He leaned forward a bit.

 

“By now we are willing to go to… extents to get our wishes. We believe that with this, we will finally be able to conquer Demacia.” Swain said. He took a deep breath before continuing.

 

“You have heard of the Machine Herald, right?” He asked.

 

“Yes, what about him?” She asked aggressively.

 

“Well, through recent notice and engagement, research on the topic, and meeting… he’s still alive.”

 

“I call bullshit.” Katarina said firmly, slamming her hands on the table and pushing herself upwards. “What the fuck are you talking about!? He’s dead! He’s been dead for many years, and you believe that I can waltz in here, tell me that hes alive, and expect me to fucking believe it!” Katarina yelled, frustrated and not believing what she heard.

 

“You didn’t let him finish!” Darius said, standing up for Swain.

 

“And how do you believe him Darius? Huh? Did he tell you when you walked in and believe it like a gullible prick?”

 

“It’s because I showed him this.” Swain said, still with a calm and collected voice. Slowly, Swain reached inside his robe and pulled something out. He opened his hand up to her, revealing a stone-like object that shone a mass amount of light, making Katarina flinch at the sight of it. Yellow light bounced all around the room as the object was held in his hand.

 

“That is an augment.” Katarina said, hands in front of her eyes so she didn’t get blinded.

 

“Yes it is.” Swain confirmed.

 

“Put the wretched thing away before it burns my eyes out.” Katarina commanded, Swain doing as she told. The room now was void of any of the augments light.

 

“How did you obtain such an artifact?” Katarina asked, her voice a bit calmer now but still shaking.

 

“Viktor gave it to me for safe keeping.” Swain said, stepping out from behind the desk. “After our little meeting, he gave it to me for safe keeping, saying that it would be safer for other people to hold on to them rather than him just incase he gets caught. Now since I’m holding on to it, there’s no way that this gem would ever be exposed to the public eye, no way for it to get lost.” Swain ranted a little. Katarina was lost in thought right now. It was true, there was no way that he could have obtained an augment considering only Viktor knew where they were.

 

“Where are the other two?” Katarina insisted.

 

“One is with Viktor, the other… is gone.” Swain hesitated at that last part.

 

“Gone, what do you mean gone!?” Katarina said, her voice becoming louder again.

 

“It’s gone Kat! Nothing we can do about it now!” Darius yelled from the side who was sitting back and observing the whole situation.

 

“What good is he to us if he doesn’t have all three!? He will have no power!”

 

“True but not true.” Swain said, stepping behind the desk again. “He will only have two of the augments, which is not good for him. He will not be at full power. However, the Hex Core can function without all of its components.” Swain contemplated now, putting his finger down on the desk.

 

“We could not beat him if he has all three, correct?” Swain asked, Katarina nodded. “So this is my proposal.” Swain said, crossing his hands together and putting them on the table. “He wants us to partner with him to take over Demacia and recover his Hex Core. This is key, because if he wants to rule the world, he can help us with destroying all of the other states as well. We attack them full on. With Viktor’s help, nothing can stop us. And when we’re done we dispose of him.” Swain said.

 

“So we backstab him when we’ve got him to do our bidding.” Katarina said, with a bit of awe in her voice at his ridiculous yet wonderful plan.

 

“Yes…” Swain said, trailing off. Katarina noticed this.

 

“Are there any catches?” She asked concerned.

 

“One.” Swain pointed out. “He wants to utilize the Void.” He said, making Katarina flinch a bit.

 

“Impossible.” She muttered.

 

“Oh it is possible. I’ve seen him.” Swain confirmed. “The Void is going to be the only roadblock in this operation, but I feel as if we’re strong enough to take them on.”

 

“We don’t know what the Void has in store though.” Darius pointed out.

 

“We can only prepare for the worst then.” Swain said.

 

“How can you trust him when he ensures you of Demacia being demolished?” Katarina asked, back to them.

 

“We can’t.”

 

“Exactly!” She yelled, turning around with her hands in the air. Her temper has gone off.

 

“You want to team up with a supposed to be dead madman scientist guy that has the power to destroy the world, and can’t even think of the outcomes of this!” Katarina yelled. “Have you even thought if he was planning to do the same thing to us!? Fucking us over, considering he seeks world domination! Taking everything for himself after he’s done with us!”

 

“Cool it Kat!” Darius yelled over.

 

“How can I! This is the most outrageous and outgoing plan you’ve had so far, but damn there are so many loopholes in it!” Katarina ended, sitting back down in her chair. Surprisingly, a smirk instantly came on her face. “However I like it Swain. Your creative plans always keep me entertained.” Katarina said, her personality going from angry to somewhat happy in a second. Swain shook his head, putting his hand on his head.

 

“How your personality changes from a hardass to a woman in a second like that… I will never know.” Swain said, gaining a laugh from Katarina. Without much conversation, Swain held out his arm. “Beatrice, come! We have a meeting with Viktor to attend.” Swain called. In a moment, the raven Beatrice flew from where she was and landed on Swain’s shoulder. With his magic, him and Beatrice were gone in a flat second, both of them disappearing from sight. Katarina let out a big breath.

 

 _“This blows.”_ Katarina thought. Her gaze drifted over towards Darius, who had an expressionless look on his face.

 

“What do you think?” She asked, a bit hesitant. He snapped out of his thought, looking at Katarina.

 

“I’m appointed to do whatever the general says, but I don’t know about this.” He said, a bit of worry in his voice. “I’ve always pictured Noxus obliterating Demacia by ourselves, not with the help of a madman.”

 

“And you said to not let my pride get the better of me. Hypocrite.” She smirked, getting up from where she was.

 

“Our pride is what keeps us going Kat, it’s what makes us stand out from the rest of them.” Darius said, catching Katarina’s attention as she was about to walk out the door. “I do what I do to make sure everything stays in line. It’s my duty. And you have your duty.” He said. Katarina turned her head.

 

“But we’re not the same Darius. How can you be so sure that we are so similar?” She asked, leaving that question floating in the air as she walked out and closed the door behind her.

 

There was no one in the room anymore, everyone around the table had left, leaving the thin and plastic army figures on the table. The room was completely quiet, except for a tapping coming from her side. She looked over seeing the mighty Draven spinning his axes carelessly in his hand, looking at her with a shy grin.

 

“Do you see what I mean now cupcake?” He asked.

 

“I don’t know what to think of it.” Katarina said, walking over and leaning herself against the wall next to Draven.

 

“Me neither. All I know is that we have one hell of a road ahead of us.” He said, making Katarina think about the future as well. Where would Draven be after all of this? Darius?

 

“Did you ever want to be here?” Draven asked, which is something that surprised Katarina. He wasn’t much on the emotional type of questions.

 

“What do you mean?” She asked, not quite getting it.

 

“Did you ever picture yourself where you are today?” Draven asked differently this time. Katarina had to think about this.

 

“As of now, yes.” She said quietly.

 

“You and me both know that’s a lie.” Draven said, turning towards Kat. She looked back at him. “You truly thought when you were a child you were going to grow up and become a full blown assassin? I think not.”

 

“And how do you know?” She said, a bit annoyed but shocked at the same time.

 

“When I look at you I don’t just look at your ass you know.” He said, laughing a bit. “I notice the way you react to different things. When someone says something you don’t like, you blow up on them. But if someone offers you something nice, you hesitate to accept. Unlike others, you think about other people, but are afraid to show it. Your pride takes the better of you.” He said. Katarina sensed the thought coming out of his words.

 

“And what do you choose? Your pride or your gut?” She asked.

 

“Both. But if you’re asking which to choose, that isn’t my decision.” He said, stopping his axe from spinning. Draven got up from where he was and started towards the door. “Think about it, because whatever happens tomorrow… the day after won’t be the same.” He said finally, grabbing the door and seeing himself out. Katarina stayed there for a while, contemplating what had just happened.The worst part about it was…

 

… He was totally right.

 

* * *

 

 

It seemed like an eternity, the amount of time she was up there. By the time she left Noxian High Command, it was already marketing time. The majority of the Noxian population was already in the streets, heading the opposite direction as Katarina as they were heading towards the square, all of them with the same look in their eyes to get there before all of the food runs dry. It wasn’t a constant thing that happened, but it was a threat. The health and well being of their citizens meant a lot to the Noxians, as one day most of them would grow up to be fine soldiers on the battlefield. That doesn’t mean that most of them will die on the battlefield though, they would die with their heads held high and their pride strong.

 

Pride. That was a word that’s been stuck in her head recently. What exactly did it mean to her? What Draven had told her, what Darius had told her… was it all true? Is she a pawn, or is she her own person? What Draven had said, she didn’t believe she was going to be here in her child years. A ruthless killer who had the reputation of being heartless and brutal.

 

Heartless, but there was a heartbeat in her chest. She could notice it, she could feel it. The more she thought about these things the stronger the feeling got, the stronger the pounding in her chest got, and the more it weighed down her eyes. She didn’t want to be known as this person that everyone talked about, although she could admit… she was good at being that person. The shimmer of blood on her blade after she has killed someone and the rush of adrenaline when shes in battle, its like a drug to her. You kill, and then you want more. It’s a feeling that she can’t stop.

 

These thoughts pondered her as she walked up the front steps to her house and opened the door,walking in to the pleasant aroma of something being cooked. The only person she could think of was her sister, but after this overwhelming sensation of feeling now she didn’t really want to quarrel with her sister. She knew her sister well, her pride was outstanding, but her anger was well contained within her, and when it gets released, people call it the stone age. As much as it tempted her stomach, she could not be seen in her current state. Trying not to make a sound, she walked up the stairs and down the hallway into her room. Everything was just as she left it, her kitty pajamas still locked away. She stood on the other side of the door for a while, standing and letting her eyes roam around her room. What to do, what to do… but she couldn’t help it.

 

Closing the door behind her, she quickly fled to her bed. Putting her daggers on the table next to it, she crouched down and looked under her bed. Reaching her hand underneath, she grabbed an object and pulled it out. It was a small box. Pulling the top off she revealed a book underneath, neatly tucked in and snug by the box. Taking it out she threw the box on a table next to the bed and plumped down on her bed. Holding the book up in front of her she examined it. A small, black hardcover without a title, and a snap lock strapping around it, keeping it from being opened. It was a journal.

 

 _“Curse this thing for being with me since I was young.”_ The thought flowed through her mind. Her mother gave her this a very long time ago. An artifact that she didn’t think she would hold onto this long. She had almost forgotten about it at one point, this was before she had to surely remember a moment that she must never forget. She casually opened and flipped through the pages of the journal, searching for the page which it was on. She read it always when she did opened it up, the memories of that particular day and the many questions she still had about it. She flipped through another moment before finally finding the page, taking a deep breath and sighing before silently reading it:

 

_“December 13th, CLE_

_He accepted it. He finally accepted his death. But that wasn’t it. Why? Why did he do it? Why did I not kill him? The rainy day must’ve clouded my thoughts. But… no, it couldn’t have. He was there, kneeling before me, accepting his death, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill him. Why couldn’t I kill him! Was it because of the girl? The one in the white dress? The one time I looked at her… what was it about her? There was something about her… something special that I just can’t put my finger on. Tears were streaming down her face, something I’ve seen a thousand times before. She was young, but not as young as I’ve seen them watch as others die before. Admittedly, she was pretty, but that didn’t mean anything. Her eyes… there was something about them, not yet revealed, but concealed within her. I could feel it, it was something magical. Something that I couldn’t compete with, and something I knew from that moment would affect the future. But still… she prevented me from… killing HIM! My rival above all others, the one I have battled for so long and have waited so long to get a good look at his face when I see him die. However whenever I fight him… I feel different. I feel as if it’s a challenge! Something else was happening during the battle when fighting him, another force that is preventing me from killing him. His strength… I can’t admit that it compares to mine. His armor blocks everything I throw at him. His perseverance… it was the same as mine. The urge for both of us to get closer to each other, to clash blades and engage in battle with each other. But with him, it doesn’t feel with other people. For once in my life I think I have been close to someone and don’t feel death. Then… what was this feeling?”_

 

The question still pondered her mind till this very day. What was that feeling? Whatever it was, she has never felt it before. Same with the feelings she felt today. What are they? Murder? Empathy? Guilt? Whatever it was, the word did not come off the top of her head. She flipped through the pages again until coming to an empty page. She picked up a pencil that lay on her desk and let the tip glide in the air. Without much thought, she began writing:

 

_“October 25th, CLE_

 

_Hell has just begun. The notification of the existence of Viktor, the Machine Herald, after all of the years that he was supposed to be dead, and yet he isn’t. Now Noxus is planning on allying with him to both of our ways. A plan that I don’t yet trust. Will it work? Probably not. As of now I don’t like one single bit of it, Viktor can come and backstab us at any moment, and if he did reanimate from the dead, there is no telling what is up his sleeve. But what do I know? My… emotions. These newfound feelings that I can’t yet describe came to me today. I’m not proud of it, it is revealing a different side of me, one that I didn’t know I had. It is revealing… memories. Of that day in particular. Again, the image of her is flashing back to me. Why? What is it about her that makes everything different? Hell if I know. All I know is… if all goes according to plan, tomorrow is going to take place in hell.”_

 

“A journal huh?” A female voice said, interrupting Katarina’s train of thought. She knew who the voice was, which is why when she looked up she flinched, remembering not to look into her eyes. A privilege that all wish they had but couldn’t. She didn’t hear her walk if, or slither in for that matter. She could only look at her body, her upper half was of a beautiful woman, her lower half resembled that of a large snake, her tail coming to a tip at the end. It was her sister, Cassiopeia.

 

“Dammit Cass.” She yelled in return, which took her by surprise.

 

“What? I just came in to say hi. I haven’t seen you all day.” Cass defended as she slithered herself more into her room, closing the door behind her.

 

“I know its just…” Katarina trailed off. It’s been a long day for her, she wasn’t really in the mood for talking. “I’ve had a long day, lets just say that.”

 

“Was it about the plan?” Cass asked boldly, which shocked Kat.

 

“You know about it?” She asked.

 

“Yeah, Swain had me up there telling me about it yesterday.” Cass said, slithering next to Kat on the bed. She lazily slumped herself down on a chair next to the bedside desk.

 

“What do you think about it?” Kat asked.

 

“Well if it’s the betterment of Noxus, then so be it. I’m just not too fond of partnering along side a technological douchebag.” She mocked, making Kat laugh a bit.

 

“Yeah, you got that right.” Kat said, tossing the journal onto the desk and laid down against her pillow, hands behind her head. Cass looked over the journal, looking pretty fond of it.

 

“This is that same journal. The one mom gave you so long ago.” Cass said in wonder, bringing back memories herself.

 

“Yup.” Kat confirmed. They stayed quiet for a moment.

 

“Mom gave me one as well.” Cass said.

 

“Mom gave us both one when we were just children. It was that long ago.” Kat reminisced.

 

“And I can’t believe you still have yours.” Cass said, running her hand over it. “I still have mine, but I can’t write anything in it because of these damned claws.” She said, holding her hand up in front of herself. Her claws came off where normally her fingernails would be. Long, sharp, and had the tendency to cut people whenever they opposed her. “Mine’s not that full, ever since dad -”

 

“We don’t talk about dad.” Katarina said sternly, which immediately silenced Cass. They both don’t need to be reminded of what happened to her dad.

 

“Well I thought I’d keep it, just in case anything important happened.” She lied. Cass looked at her, even though she knew she wouldn’t look back.

 

“How much of it is full?” She asked.

 

“It’s almost full.” Kat answered.

 

“And there are that many important things happening lately?” Cass saw right through her lie, leaving Kat silent. She sighed. “Talk to me Kat. What’s going through your mind?” She asked caringly.

 

“Alot of stuff.” Was Katarina’s response. “I can’t sort through it. These… feelings. They’re so new to me.” She said, making Cass more intrigued than she already was.

 

“What feelings?” She asked slowly.

 

“I can’t describe them. They’re…” She trailed off, not knowing what she was going to say. She couldn’t describe her feelings, they were so different than what she’s used to. “...foreign.” She managed to say. She felt herself become heavier, and as so, she got up from where she was and bolted to the door. She opened the door and stopped herself in the doorframe for a second, taking a deep breath.

 

“I’m sorry Cass. You know I care about you, I just need some time to myself.” Katarina said. Cass was still confused.

 

“Where are you going?” She asked.

 

“Away from here, from Noxus. I will meet the charge halfway tomorrow when Noxus decides to strike. I just need to think.” She said, stepping out the doorway, but Cass said something that stopped her.

 

“I didn’t know you had feelings Kat. I thought you ran yourself on pride.” She said, striking something in Kat’s heart. Something snapped. She didn’t know what it was, but it was something. She turned back around, almost looking her sister in the eye.

 

“It’s either my pride or these feelings. I have a day to decide.” Kat said finally before fleeing the doorway and Noxus.

  
  


 

 


	13. Chpater 12: Titanium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short transition to new area. New character introduced. New relationship, new plot sequence.

_Meanwhile._

 

“Have you ever eaten a snoogleberry?” Lulu asked, skipping along ahead of her and turned to face her, a cheery and innocent expression on her face. Tristana was behind her, walking at a steady pace forward. Leaning on her rocket a bit, she was slightly annoyed at Lulu’s persistence with her very odd and abnormal questions during the trip, but she also couldn’t help but adore  her quirkiness sometimes. It always gave Tristana a good smile. Tristana pretended to think about the question as they walked even though she knew the answer was no already. The trees around her and the scenery, the way berry bushes and various flowers were the only things that scattered the ground other than the stumps of the oak trees that populated the forest. The sun was at its peak, high in the sky above them as the light radiated heat just enough to make Tristana sweat while walking. Their destination: home, Bandle City. Lulu looked at her with wide, light green eyes as she walked backwards in front of her.

 

“No, I don’t think so.” Tristana replied, maintaining an expression of her actually contemplating the question.

 

“Really!? Mostly everyone I know has tried a snoogleberry!” Lulu said shocked, stopping to let Tristana catch up and walk by her side. In an instant she grabbed Tristana’s arm and pulled her closer to her. Awkward, but that was Lulu.

 

“Does it taste good?” Tristana asked. Lulu jumped at the question.

 

“Of course not!” She said, almost offended. “The snoogleberry is extremely poisonous. No one in their right _mind_ would ever try to eat one!” Tristana raised her hands in defense.

 

“Then what do they use it for?” Tristana asked.

 

“The snoogleberry makes for an incredible inscent. Have you ever heard rumors about it here on Valoran?” Lulu asked. Tristana shook her head. “The rumors are true. They say when you burn the snoogleberry just right, it produces the scent of your favorite smell! And trust me, sometimes you’ll smell something that you haven’t smelled before and it will be your favorite smell ever!” She said jumping around. “Isn’t that right Pix?” She asked Pix, her fairy companion that has been hovering over her shoulder the entire trip. Elated at the question, Pix did a backflip in mid air showing his joy. Lulu giggled at his stunt. She turned back to Tristana. “I gave Rumble one, and he instantly put it in his mouth. Luckily he didn’t have time to swallow it before I punched him in the gut and he spit it out.” Lulu said, making Tristana laugh a little. “Anyways, he burned it the way I told him, and he almost fainted the first time he smelled it! It smelt that good! I will have to show you sometime, it is amazing!” Lulu said with joy, skipping out in front of Tristana again and turning to face her.

 

“Are there any around here?” Tristana asked again.

 

“Nope. They are only found in the Glade. You and Teemo should join me there sometime, I would appreciate the company. Sometimes I get lonely.” Lulu said and Pix slumped against the side of her face. Lulu frowned. “Oh Pix, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re great company!” Lulu reassured, making Pix cheer up and flutter above her shoulder again.

 

“What’s the Glade like?” Tristana asked. A question that’s shes actually never asked her before despite how long they’ve known each other. Lulu pondered the question for a while, giving off occasional “hmm”’s.

 

“I’d like to call it a place full of wonders!” She described, exaggerating the word “wonders”. “You would never believe what it looked like unless you’ve come across some crazy stuff here that you were not able to explain. It is completely different looking than Runeterra. All different land, all different food, all different flowers and jungles and pretty things. Although no human inhabitants, or yordle inhabitants for that matter.”

 

“Sounds great. You’re going to have to show me sometime.” Tristana said, now passing Lulu as she stopped and waited again. But now she seemed to skip around Tristana in small circles. How she maintains such energy Tristana will never know.

 

“Oh I will, trust me!” She assured. She faced Tristana now. “But if you want something that’s tasty, you should try the khavatazanianarwa berry! Now that tastes good!”

 

And the conversation continued like that the majority of the way back. Not stopping much for rest, Tristana’s eyes began to weigh on her the more the sun past in the sky, but not so much to not complete her quest. Lulu was as bright as ever, smiling from crest to crest of her mouth at all times of the day, talking her mouth off about different and random things that Tristana had no clue were. At least Tristana had something to listen to on the way back, or else the journey would be boring with just by herself. Her, Teemo, Lulu, Kennen, and Rumble. All the best of friends back in the day that they were all around together, before Teemo and Kennen had their fallout. She could recall all of the moments that they had together, all of the endeavors that they fought through together, and all of the great memories of the good times. Some of the memories brought her on the verge of tears while walking, but she did never burst out into tears, only contain them because she could only imagine how Lulu would react seeing her slip a tear. Lulu, one of Tristana’s best friends, and one the Tristana knew very well. It was very hard to find someone that could pull out the serious side from Lulu, and Tristana was one of them. In fact, in Tristana’s mind she was the only one she knew that could do that. Make Lulu act serious in a non-lethal situation and not act quirky. It takes time and effort in order to make Lulu go to that stage, but when she did… it was slightly scary. Through all of Lulu’s joy there was a different side to her that people have not yet seen, and one that Tristana has yet to fully reveal. All she knew was that it was ominous.

 

_“Teemo… Kennen…”_ The two were another thought that pondered her mind. For as long as she's known them the two have been the best of company to her. Always joking around and acting extremely cute together which always brought out a laugh from Tristana. But after what happened between the two of them… it was never the same. She could still remember Teemo afterwards, the sorrow that took him over and how he hid in his room, sobbing from grief. It was tragic… and now hes back. Kennen. Tristana didn’t know what to think of him now. He seemed like the same person he was when he was with them before. But she still knew it would never be the same around him. His reasoning why he left… it was understandable to say the least. To Tristana she could never see Kennen the same way again after that, but could still and always will admire Teemo and Kennen’s relationship. They were still friends, and still actually very good friends, it’s just… _“Why?”_ Tristana thought. _“Why did Shen and Akali make him do that?”_ It was a question she has had ever since it happened, but only reminded herself of it recently. She knew Akali and Shen only briefly but by what she could tell they were definitely good people. Akali was very caring and Shen was like the dad of all of them. But they would make Kennen do something like that to poor Teemo, a person so innocent on the outside. It just… didn’t make sense.

 

A relationship. Something Tristana herself has never had, but has always been curious about it. She witnessed the joys of it from Teemo and Kennen, the way they were together and the happiness brought upon them as soon as they caught sight of each other. It was a feeling that Tristana has not yet felt but… longed for in a sense. She envied Teemo in that way, she wanted the same ecstasy that he felt, the same sense of longing that he felt. But what would the pressure be like, to be the main reason of why someone fights to see another day? Like Teemo and Kennen. How could they deal with it?

 

All of these questions pondered in her head as they continued to walk on. It was interesting the way Lulu could keep a conversation going, distracting Tristana off of her thoughts sometimes which, frankly, she was thankful of. The topics she was bringing up were interesting but out of her realm of imagination.

 

“And that is the story of Snuffleupagus, the butterfly shark!” Lulu concluded with a wide smile and a small jump. She began walking backwards but didn’t take long before she accidently ran into a tree, bumping her head against it and recoiling forward. “Oww!”

 

“Smooth.” Tristana said, walking right past Lulu who now turned to walk forward, rubbing the back of her head. She sounded much more relaxed but that was only due to the sight in front of her. The Bandle City walls. The tall walls of Bandle City towered shortly in front of her, the gates swung open at hers and Lulu’s arrival. A feeling of relief came over as Bandle City slowly wrapped itself around her, bystander yordles going about their normal business. But with this relief came sleepiness. She yawned once before Lulu ran excitedly in front of her.

 

“Home!” She yelled out, jumping up once. Tristana smiled at her as other yordles eyed her with curiosity, something Lulu was used to already.

 

“Yep. We’re finally ho -” Tristana was saying but got cut off. For a second she thought that she saw something sticking out of the ground in front of her, which by instinct she instantly stopped. However she also tripped over herself. Clumsy Tristana noticed herself start to fall, so she instantly braced for impact. But the only impact was a soft one, not hitting the ground, but by getting caught in someones arms. She opened her eyes to look who caught her. It was someone she knew too well. He was the only one with blue fur amongst her group of friends. They would consistently remark on how awesome his mohawk was and help him with his mech designs from time to time. Overall, he was a great and fun person to have around. His amber eyes looked down upon her with worry, but it comforted her. It was Rumble.

 

“Hey.” Rumble greeted with a shy smile. Tristana smiled back.

 

“Hey.” She replied.

 

“SMOOTH!” Lulu yelled from far away who witnessed the event. Rumble turned to look at Lulu while Tristana just rolled her eyes. Rumble looked back down.

 

“I don’t suppose you need any help getting up.” Rumble said slyly.

 

“Oh very funny.” Tristana said laughing a little which made Rumble laugh. In one move Tristana swung an arm around the back of his neck and pulled herself up. Rumble let go of her now, both of them standing and looking at each other, Rumble blushing at the move.

 

“Thank you.” Tristana said, brushing off her sides.

 

“Yeah, no problem.” He said, observing Tristana’s face. “You look terrible.”

 

“I haven’t slept in a while. That was the only reason I fell over…” She said but trailed off as she was about to point over what she tripped over. But she noticed that where she fell, there was nothing that could trip her. Her eyes focused in on the spot until she noticed something odd. On the ground, the cement was just a tad darker than the rest. It was a small circle that she realized is what she thought she tripped over. Instead it was flat on the ground, like when water would hit cement. But it was small enough so that it couldn’t have been a full bucket of water… a teardrop?

 

“I swear that there was something there.” She said, showing how tired she was. Rumble took notice.

 

“I see that no sleep took a toll on you.” He said.

 

“I know right!” Lulu yelled over from the side, this time walking over towards them. They both looked at her oddly as she came over. It was amazing how fast she was too, it took her the matter of a minute to get herself a stick of cotton candy.

 

“You got yourself -” Tristana was interrupted.

 

“Cotton candy?” She said and nodded to them. “What? I was hungry.” Lulu said. She looked between the two who were still looking at her, raising an eyebrow. Lulu shrugged but shot her head up. “Rumble, I told her about the snoogleberries!”

 

“Oh no, not the snoogleberries.” He mumbled in horror to himself. He shot straight up, wanting to change the subject. “Umm Lulu, I’m sorry but I’m going to take Tristana to my place so she can rest for a while.” He said, grabbing Tristana’s wrist. She was surprised at the action.

 

“Aww. Making Tristy leave already!” Lulu yelled sadly. “Alrighty then… but Tristana, want to try some snoogleberries later?”

 

“Nope! Nope! She would not like to try the snoogleberries!” Rumble said now panicked. He immediately tightened his grip on Tristana and pulled her away, beginning to lead him and her in the opposite direction of Lulu. Lulu stayed in place.

 

“The snoogleberries are great!” Lulu yelled over.

 

“She will never try the snoogleberries!” Rumble yelled back. Tristana looked confused.

 

“SHE WILL TRY THE SNOOGLEBERRIES!”

 

“NEVER!” They both yelled at each other before Rumble rounded the corner, Rumble and Lulu both giggling as it happened. Rumble’s sight eased in on Tristana after his moment, noticing that she was super confused.

 

“What are snoogleberries then!?” Tristana asked, slightly chuckling herself. Rumble laughed.

 

“They’re berries that smell really good basically.” Rumble answered, starting to walk forward. Tristana followed as they started down the road. “Lulu likes to make fun of me though since the first time I smelled one I fainted. Since then I’ve tried to avoid the topic.”

 

“So they’re not bad?” Tristana asked.

 

“Nope, not in the slightest… unless you eat them apparently.” Rumble said, giggling a bit. And with that they fell into a brief silence as Rumble led the way. It was a pretty busy day in the streets of Bandle, but nothing that they haven’t seen before. The majority of the sight in front of them was surrounded by, to them, large apartment buildings since they were now in the residential district of Bandle City. They saw a few faces that they knew quite well. Ziggs walked past them while they were walking. A jolly and crazy fellow that many people seemed to avoid to lower the risk of getting themselves blown up. They knew him quite well but weren’t particularly interested in what he does, but still a good friend to Rumble and Tristana nonetheless. Rumble was the first to break the silence.

 

“Oh yeah, I totally forgot!” He said, turning to Tristana. “How’d your mission go?” Tristana sighed.

 

“Long story Rumble, I will tell you about it when we get to your place.” Tristana said slumping her shoulders to her sides. Rumble looked concerned.

 

“Nothing… extreme happened when you were gone, right? I noticed that you didn’t come back with Teemo but with Lulu instead, and I don’t see Garen or Lux anywhere.” Rumble asked. Tristana only replied with silence, which motioned for Rumble to not touch on the subject either. Unsure of what to do next, he eyed the floor and then Tristana, and then back again. After a while he found the courage to speak.

 

“Hey, its ok.” He said, bringing his arm and wrapping it around Tristana’s shoulders, a move that took her by surprise and could tell that Rumble was hesitant about it. “You’re home now… and whatever happened can be relieved! Home, think about all of the beautiful things here. All of the awesome things that happened when we were kids. Its amazing!” Rumble said, trying to reminisce in those memories. Tristana managed to, bringing about a smile on her face. Rumble smiled as well when she saw her. Tristana looked up to Rumble, their faces not that far apart.

 

“Thank you Rumble.” She said as they rounded the corner.

 

“For what?” He asked.

 

“For trying to comfort me.” She said, a warm smile on her face. “I really appreciate it. These last few days were truly exhausting.”

 

“I can tell, you looked wiped out.” He said. “But in my eyes you still look good.” Rumble said, gaining a weird look from Tristana.

 

“What’s with the compliments?” Tristana asked.

 

“Well I thought you could use them. I’m trying to brighten your day up.” Rumble said, a hearty smile going across his lips.

 

“To be honest, you’re doing a good job at it.” Tristana said, making both her and Rumble laugh a bit.

 

“I try my hardest.” Rumble said.

 

“For me?”

 

“Yeah, for you. You, Teemo, Lulu, you are all my family.” Rumble said, looking at Tristana. “It takes a lot to get that way inside my heart.”

 

“Well,” Tristana began, shrugging her shoulders. “What’s inside your heart?” Tristana asked. She didn’t expect the reaction though. His eyes went void of any feeling, or hope for that manner. It seemed that he tensed up as solid as a rock, Tristana only now realizing the muscle he has now since he flexed with his arm around her neck. His face was stone study, the smile wiping off his lips. He turned his head to look forward. It was scary. His expression, it reminded her of… way back then. Back when they were children… oh no.

 

“Rumble please -”

 

“I’m a pessimistic soul.” He said, cutting Tristana off. His voice was deep, almost like a demon. “My heart is full of my past… its grip has held on me for many years and has never let go. The memories of my own self incrimination. I blamed myself for everything bad that has happened to me in my past, and I could never forgive myself for letting go of all of those positive moments in my life.” Rumble said. As he was talking he began to choke more and more with every word, eventually breaking out into a tear rolling down his fur. Tristana looked at him with sorrow. She knew what he meant.

 

“I was hated.” Rumble said, sobbing in the middle of the street at this point. “They all hated me… They bullied me. I was beaten… kicked to the ground… endured the pain.” He said.

 

“Rumble please.” Tristana said, grabbing his arm. That seemed to loosen him up a bit. “Don’t let the past get hold of you.” She said. Rumble squeezed his eyes shut, stopping the tears from coming out. He nodded before opening his eyes.

 

“I’m sorry.” He said.

 

“Don’t be. It’s ok to feel.” Tristana reassured. Rumble nodded again. He sighed.

 

“However through all of that… there is one thing positive that I kept in my mind. Something that I always thought of whenever it happened.” Rumble said. He thought about it and it made him loosen up more. She noticed.

 

“And what would that be?” Tristana asked.

 

“I will tell you when we get to my place.” Rumble said. “And that happens to be right there.” He said, pointing down the street. Rumble’s house. It wasn’t much of a house but more of a large apartment in an apartment building. The only reason that it was noticeable was because Rumble himself requested to have a garage to work in. With his notable presence among the community as being a great innovator and mechanic, they allowed him to have one. So it looked like a normal apartment building with the exception of a large garage in the corner. Rumble took out a remote out of his pocket, pointed it towards the door and clicked a button. The metal garage door opened up in front of them, revealing the garage behind it. Tristana first noticed the large object tucked in on the left, easily illuminated by the sunlight that reflected off the metal on it. A mech, a machine that isn’t surprising for Rumble to make as he’s made many before, however this one seemed much bigger than before. Above human size, which surprised Tristana. It was still work in progress, but it seemed really well done so far. She didn’t ask anything about it. She knew her was around Rumble’s house but let him guide her. Through the door inside the garage led them into his actual apartment. A nice and kept living room with a green sofa pointed towards a small television. Rounding the corner of his light blue and faded walls were two rooms on either side. On the left was his bedroom which Rumble led her into, and on the right was the kitchen, the light above hanging tightly and was already on, illuminating the refrigerator, sink, and other kitchen appliances in the room. She peered over for one second and noticed the refrigerator. Shes seen them before and it always put a smile on her face. The way Rumble valued their friendship, Rumble had photos of him, her, Teemo, Kennen, and Lulu scattered pinned on the refrigerator. She smiled at the memories, the picture of her forcibly shoving Teemo and Kennen into a kiss as Rumble took a picture, the picture of her and Rumble as small children, and the picture of Lulu and Kennen awkwardly staring at each other for no apparent reason as Rumble took a picture, an odd photo but one to keep nonetheless. As she turned her head she had a clear view of his bedroom. Small with only one bed, dark blue walls painted on all sides of her with a dresser holding a lamp on it, already lighting up the room. Rumble motioned her towards the bed. She took the offer, lazily plumping herself on the bed, lying herself flat on it which made Rumble laugh. She laughed a little too before tugging herself under Rumble’s comforters, making herself comfortable in his bed. Rumble sat on the side of the bed.

 

“Comfy?” Rumble asked.

 

“Very.” Tristana said, rolling herself on her side to look at Rumble. For a second they awkwardly sat there staring at each other. Rumble broke eye-contact.

 

“Now since we’re here… care to tell me what happened?” Rumble asked.

 

“You up for a story?” Tristana said. Rumble nodded. Taking a deep breath, Tristana started… with a brief summary.

 

“To put it short all hell broke loose.” Tristana said, Rumble looked confused. “The first day was fine. We acquainted ourselves with Garen and Lux, who in short are great people. Teemo and I got along very well with them. The next day we… met up with Kennen.” Tristana said nodding. Rumble’s eyes shot open wide in disbelief.

 

“No.” Rumble said.

 

“Yeah… it was pretty hectic.” Tristana said. Rumble fidgeted with his hands, eventually crossing them together.

 

“So… what about Teemo?” Rumble asked.

 

“It was intense. You could feel the tension from miles away.” She exaggerated. “But they had a conversation and… they're still friends.”

 

“That’s good. What they had… was great. I would never want anything to happen to any of them. Teemo is one of my best friends and Kennen is just awesome. So… yeah.” Rumble said.

 

“And hopefully it will stay that way.” Tristana said, biting her lower lip. She paused for a minute, letting Rumble take in the information before continuing.

 

“And then… well we met up with Lulu out of nowhere.” She said, laughing a bit. “She was in quite a bind… getting herself surrounded by a group of trolls.”

 

“Trolls?” Rumble said questioningly.

 

“That’s what I said.” Tristana said. “We saved her but… Teemo… well… “died”.” She said , emphasizing died. Rumble’s eyes went wide again but Tristana quickly shushed him down. “No, hes not actually dead.”

 

“Oh ok!” He said, letting out a deep sigh.

 

“He did, but Lulu saved his life using some sort of crazy spell.”

 

“What spell?” Rumble asked.

 

“I don’t know, but who cares! Hes alive!” Tristana said, throwing her hands up making her and Rumble laugh. “And then me and Lulu came back while they kept going on.”

 

“That’s…” Rumble said, trailing off. He shook his head, taking back what he was going to say. “Sounds like a great adventure.”

 

“It was definitely an adventure.” She said, stretching herself out on the bed once again, her entire body straight with her toes touching the end of the bed. “So what did you do while I was gone? Screw around with Ziggs?”

 

“He is a pretty crazy person.” Rumble said giggling once. “But besides hanging out with him I didn’t really do much else.”

 

“Living the boring life?” Tristana asked.

 

“It’s the best life.” Rumble said, making Tristana laugh a little.

 

“So… on a more serious note,” Tristana began. “You said that you always had something positive on your mind in your times of need. What would that be?” Tristana asked, looking at Rumble with deep curiosity. Rumble tensed up again, but not much as before. The smile on his face was replaced by his lips forming a straight line, an unsure expression on his face. Whatever he was about to say, he was going to mean it. Tristana pondered his look. What was he going to say?

 

“To be completely honest and straightforward Tristana… it is you.” Rumble said, making Tristana’s eyes go wide. He took the shock as a good sign, meaning that she wasn’t expecting it.

 

“Tristana… we’ve been childhood friends, and since then you represent so much to me. You helped me during that time… whenever they decided to harass me you were there to stop them, and whenever I was their crying you were there to comfort me.” He said slowly. The more he talked the more it really hit Tristana in the heart. What was he getting at?

 

“I - um… Rumble I don’t know what to think. Thank you.” She said flattered. He nodded.

 

“Tristana I -” He said but immediately stopped himself mid sentence, lowering his head and shaking it. He gritted his teeth together.

 

“Rumble -” Tristana said but was interrupted when Rumble shot up, stuttering even more.

 

“Tristana I - I…”

 

“I love you.” Rumble said, leaving both himself and Tristana speechless.

 

For the first time in a while Tristana’s heart jumped. Joy? No. But the feeling of someone loving her… incomprehensible. It was pleasurable and it was satisfying to have some of her questions answered. But still… Rumble, a friend she has had for so long loved her. He loved her! Rumble locked eyes with her and she locked eyes with him. She could tell that he was searching her eyes, looking for any sort of expression to tell him what she was feeling. However he didn’t find much but the satisfaction of looking into her beautiful blue eyes. He sighed looking disappointed, which was a feeling that Tristana didn’t want him to feel.

 

“I will leave you that to sleep on.” Rumble said with a monotone voice. Slowly he got up from the bed and walked towards the door. Opening the door he stood in the doorframe when Tristana stopped him.

 

“Wait!” Tristana yelled, Rumble turned towards her. “I…” She wanted to say something but nothing came out of her mouth. The words were in her head, she just couldn’t get them out! Express them! Now! … But she couldn’t. Rumble sighed again.

 

“Yeah…” He said again sadly, looking down and closing the door behind him.

 

Her heart dropped to the ground.

 

* * *

 

 

Two things woke her up later on that day from one of deepest slumbers she’s been in in a long time, her mind still tossing and turning from newly awakening and earlier in the day. One was the sun’s brilliant rays of light straining across her face, making Tristana roll over and put the pillow over her head to stay out of the light. The other was the sound of drills, saws, and other mechanical equipment being used right outside of the house, loud enough to catch Tristana’s ears and recognize who it is most likely from: Rumble. She strained her eyes as she stretched out on the bed, still in the same attire from earlier, the room still in the same shape as earlier. The only thing that had changed was the sun’s position, which was now in the opposite side of the sky, trailing along a path that the clouds have created neatly for it. She sat up, scratching her head, not remembering much else from earlier due to faulty lack of memory. Was it that? No. It was that her head was fully occupied by a fact that she had learned about just before she went to sleep, something that she was not prepared for.

 

Rumble loved her.

 

The thought weighed her head down as she fell asleep hours earlier like a giant metal plate being squashed against someones head until it was flat. The pressure of the simile was realistic. She now understood what it was like to be loved. However she didn’t expect it to come so unexpectedly. It was so sudden. Just after she got out of one of the craziest quests shes ever been on was this information past on to her so abruptly by none other than one of her best friends and one of the best people she’s ever met. She could recall all of the moments they have had together, the good times… but Rumble had this dark side about him, one more easily revealable than Lulu’s whose was well hidden. Rumble wasn’t afraid to discuss it but most of the time it didn’t seem like Rumble. It seemed like he was a different person whenever he talked about the past. For example earlier today. Tristana recalled that particular event that made her think differently about him. All of the events of his past, him being brutally abused by other children his age for not being like him, for being the odd one out, and not fitting in with other groups made him the social outcast. It made everyone else hate him, to not appreciate him for what he did. He was the smart one, but everyone else could not realize it. They sought their own path which, sadly, was not the same as great Rumble’s. They didn’t believe him when Rumble said that he had invented a miniature catapult that shoots small rocks up to a block away, nor when Rumble created his first ever mech with scrap metal he found at the junkyard. No, none of them did. And that was why he was beaten… the maniacal laughter of the so called “cool kids” as they kicked him when he was on the ground, not caring for the tears that stained their shoes or the wounded grunting sounds of him being beaten on the ground. But then there was the one thing Rumble mentioned… her. The way that Tristana made him feel. The way that thinking about her solidified his thoughts, prevented him from remembering those times. This was only due to her being his savior. All throughout his life she has cared for Rumble. She watched the first time as they beat him, sitting in an alleyway on the side concealed in the shadows, not thinking about how the poor specimen would soon be one of her best friends. She could still remember his face being so beaten and torn apart, his face relaying no hope. The second time however she intervened. The time she stood up for the poor yordle whose name happened to be Rumble, the way she scared off the other kids with her might. It was one of the factors that led her to be who she was today, and it was a key part in being what Rumble considers her today. A guardian angel.

 

Now in the present they lived their normal, ordinary lives as soldiers and citizens of their beloved Bandle City, one which they put forth so much effort to maintain and inspire for the rest of the citizens. Rumble, now an advocate in the community, received praise for his work, and was one of Bandle City’s top inventors and mechanics next to Piltover’s renowned Heimerdinger. And for Tristana, who was part of one of Bandle City’s most prestigious military divisions, was proud for him. From what he was then compared to where he is now truly shows how much he’s grown. From being looked down upon to being looked up at… and to him it was all thanks to her, his guardian angel Tristana turned his life around for him. She guesses that it is suitable for him to love her… and for her to love him…

 

Quickly she disposed of any thought she was thinking of and tuned in on the sounds around her. The birds chirping were drowned out by the sounds of drilling outside. Knowing that it was Rumble made her a bit hesitant to get up, but she knew that it was inevitable to encounter him anyway. She stood up, stretching herself once more before opening the door and walking out into Rumble’s apartment. In front of her was the kitchen which she zoomed her sight in on the refrigerator. A smile pursed her lips as she looked at the photos again. The memories of the past flooded back to her and reminded her how much of friends they actually are to her. Teemo, Rumble, Kennen, Lulu… she could never hold anything against them. Walking past the kitchen and the living room, she opened the door to Rumble’s garage and walked inside.

 

The light from the outside quickly flooded her vision again, along with the bright orange sparks that quickly faded from her vision whenever they were created, the sound of drilling being ceasing at her arrival. Looking past the garage walls which were conveniently filled with all sorts of tools, she turned her vision to Rumble who was wearing goggles preventing sparks from hitting him while he worked on the mech, the same large mech that Tristana noticed earlier. She walked past the crafting table against the wall and up to the mech, not to close as it looked like it would blow up any second, and it being unfinished meant that she should definitely not screw with it. Rumble took off his goggles revealing his warm amber eyes as he gave her a polite smile, jumping off the metal ladder he had set up to reach the top of the mech.

 

“Hiya there!” Rumble said joyfully to her as he rounded side of the mech to come face to face with her. Tristana smiled.

 

“Hey.” She said, yawning and having to stretch again. “How long was I out for?”

 

“A good three or four hours.” Rumble said. “Hopefully you had a good sleep. That’s not much for being awake all day.”

 

“Well it’s just good that I got some sleep.” She said laughing a bit. She turned her attention towards the mech. “A new project I’m guessing?”

 

“Oh right!” He said, pointing a finger upward in the realization.  He motioned her to follow him, which she did. They began walking slowly around the machine, giving Tristana a mini tour of it.

 

“You’ve been wondering what I’ve been working on while you were gone. Welp, I decided to give this a shot.” Rumble said proudly. “It’s not really an attempt but already a final product. I already know that this is going to work on its first try without question.”

 

“And how do you know that?” Tristana said coming to a halt. Rumble turned around.

 

“Because I’ve poured every bit of heart and soul I had into this. Hell, I’ve gone all out this time!” Rumble exclaimed. When he was done with his walk around they both came to a stop in front of the mech.

 

“And what make’s you want to go all out this time?” Tristana asked, a lot of questions pondering her mind.

 

“Well since you and Teemo left I wanted to have this done by the time you got back, it’s just… I didn’t think you would come back so early.” Rumble said. Tristana raised an eyebrow. “It’s just you were with Garen, the Might of Demacia. I’d expect them to have a very serious and long running matter to attend to.”

 

“My return was kind of abrupt.” Tristana said awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. “It look’s good though! Impressing me yet again!”

 

“That’s my job!” Rumble said, turning to his mech. “She’s almost done, just a few more finishing touches and she’s good to go!”

 

“What’re you making this for? Like… what’s its purpose?” Tristana asked.

 

“Fighting.” Rumble said bluntly, leaving Tristana shocked.

 

“Fighting!?” She said. “What do you mean?”

 

“Ziggs is an explosive expert. I figured since I’ve been talking to him recently to have him help me implement some ideas into this. It’s going to make things go BOOM!” Rumble yelled excitedly, mimicking something being blown up. “You like it when things blow up, don’t you?”

 

“I love it when things blow up.” Tristana said playfully, making both of them laugh.

 

“That’s good!” Rumble said, getting up on a step and putting his hand on something on the mech. Tristana turned away, beginning to observe something on the wall. After a few seconds of silence, Rumble said something that had Tristana confused.

 

“Alright Tristy, where were we?” Rumble asked. Tristana turned around.

 

“What?” Tristana asked. Rumble looked at her, wearing the same odd confused face as her.

 

“What?” Rumble asked back. Tristana’s eyes turned slim at him. A hint of sweat glossed on Rumble’s fur.

 

“You said my name…” Tristana said, sarcastically chuckling at the end.

 

“Oh right!” Rumble yelled, a bit more nervous now. He jumped down from the step and walked next to Tristana. he gestured her towards the mech.

 

“Tristana, meet Tristy, the unfinished but totally-going-to-kick-ass-when-it’s-done fighter mech!” He said, waving her over to ‘Tristy’. Tristana was startled by this.

 

“Wait. So you named this mech… after me?” Tristana asked.

 

“Yeah.” Rumble said, turning his full body towards her. “But… I guess you’re going to need an explanation.” He said, voice toning down a few notches from his loud and excited voice, going down to a softer and more comfortable voice. He looked into her eyes once, and then down again, and then repeated that same process multiple times for a single moment. Getting impatient but had the sudden urge to, she raised her hand and planted it under his chin, straightening it so that it was firmly looking at her. Rumble, with his own uncontrollable urge, reached out with both of his hands and grabbed hers in a soft and caring manner. He felt Tristana gasp, lightening his grip a bit.

 

“Tristana, I mean it when I said that… when I said I love you.” He said softly, letting a small smile cross his lips. Tristana couldn’t help but feel warm when he said that, curling her lips into a smile as well. “I named it after you because I love you… but also because I feel that it represents you. The mech… it’s made out of one of the rarest, most exquisite and most expensive pieces of metal out there… titanium.” He said, making Tristana flinch. Titanium, one of the toughest pieces of metal there is on the market, and one that would cost a fortune to afford. “It really reflects you… and me actually. I was criticized, but all of the hatred was ricocheted away… by you! You repelled the hate, and for that… thank you.” Rumble said, choking a bit. “In this… if they try to shoot me down, I won’t fall, and if they do shoot me down, I get right back up. Tristana, this represents you because you are titanium.” Tristana was left speechless yet again. What he just said… it was beautiful.

 

“Rumble I… I don’t know what to say…” She said, trailing off.

 

“It doesn’t matter to me what you say Trist.” Rumble said. “You taught me how to be strong, how to hold my head high, and with that…” He said, putting his hand on his chest, right above where his heart is. “I now have a heart of gold.”

 

“You didn’t leave time for me to answer Rumble.” Tristana said, a sly smile. He immediately backed down, turning into shy Rumble once again. He clenched his hands behind his back.

 

“Oh, uh….um… I -” Rumble stuttered, but Tristana laughed playfully at this and shortly after so did Rumble.

 

“Here.” Tristana said, this time willingly reaching behind Rumble’s back and grabbing his hand, pulling it to the side of them. Rumble melted under her touch. “Let’s walk on it. I need to go somewhere anyway.” Tristana said. She didn’t give Rumble any time at all to do anything else before pulling him out the garage door and into the streets. The streets were left untouched the past few hours, the only noticeable difference was the amount of people on the streets at this time of day, much less than before. As they past the various markets and apartment buildings that populated most of the space in the buildings aligning the path for them, both of them had a smile on their face, willingly holding each others hand. Some people looked at them questioningly as the walked together, wondering if they were together or not. It didn’t take long before they popped out in the main square of Bandle City, the park surprisingly filled with small yordle children and their parents. Their destination was right in front of them, one of the tallest buildings in Bandle City: their capitol building. Tristana began to walk slower near the railing.

 

“How long have you loved me Rumble?” She asked, sliding her hand atop the railing.

 

“As long back as I can remember.” Rumble answered. “I’ve always felt that way towards you for a long time. I didn’t realize it was love though until a year ago.” He said, looking at Tristana. “I’ve observed Teemo and Kennen’s relationship, how perfect it was. How they always smiled whenever they were with each other and how they were always that small, childish and playful couple. I’ve been wondering what they were feeling whenever they were with each other, and if it is the same as what I’m feeling towards you.” Tristana turned to look at Rumble.

 

“It’s funny… I’ve been looking at it that way too.” She said. “But I’ve actually been… jealous in that way. I envied Teemo for having a bond like that, and I looked up upon him more because of that… I’ve always wondered what love felt like, what it is like to love and be loved, and now I think I know what it’s like to be loved. I was always content with longing for that feeling and never thought of what it was like to love…” She trailed off, not quite knowing herself what she was getting at. Rumble’s expression didn’t change and really did show Tristana how much he’s changed throughout the years. If it was a few years ago, he’d be in tears.

 

“So what are you feeling right now?” He asked, voice going a bit deeper. Tristana took a moment to answer.

 

“Unsure.” She answered darkly. “So much has happened these past few days I’m not quite sure what to think anymore.”

 

“I’m sorry if I made it come on a bit too sudden.” Rumble apologized.

 

“Oh you definitely did, and I was surprised when you came out that bold.” Tristana said, chuckling a bit. “But…” She began with a thin smile, reaching out and grabbing Rumble’s wrist again. “I appreciate all of the thought for me… keep it up and I might just know what it’s like to love.” She said, putting a wide smile on Rumble’s face as well. He nodded once, getting the message and ending the conversation. They continued walking for a bit longer before they climbed the stairs together to the capitol building. Opening the double doors, they walked inside.

 

It definitely looked like a political building, and by that it was definitely boring like one. An office building more than official political building or the super refined and polished insides of a Demacian building. Dark wood depicted the face of the building inside and out, the wood neatly carved into small office workspaces for workers here. Along the walls was the Bandle City flag neatly rolled across the walls. Small paintings and murals also occupied the walls and were the only other source of aesthetic pleasure in the building. For outsiders stereotyping yordles as an energetic species they were definitely right, but definitely wrong in this situation. The sound of yordles chatting amongst each other was a sound to yawn at, and the sound of printers didn’t satisfy her ears in the slightest. A boring place in her eyes, but she had a task at hand here. She walked up to the counter with Rumble, the female yordle clerk behind it recognizing who they were and took a double take before actually talking to them.

 

“Hello Tristana. Hello Rumble. How may I help you today.” The lady said.

 

“Hi, I’m looking for Poppy. I have to report my mission.” Tristana said.

 

“Poppy’s in a matter uninterruptable at the moment.” The lady said, shaking her head.

 

“Can you make an exception? This is an urgent manner.” Tristana asked. The clerk just shook her head again.

 

“Poppy is in an area that is requested to stay private and only viewable to authorities under the name of this building. I’m sorry Tristana, you are not allowed inside.” The clerk said, but Tristana could tell that she was nervous about saying that in front of her and Rumble. Rumble noticed too. Rumble, acting on his own will, shot a fist up and slammed it on the counter.

 

“You can’t handle an urgent request of a lady with high status?” Rumble said forcefully, almost growling at the lady. A drop of sweat slid off the lady’s forehead. Looking between Tristana and Rumble, she looked as solid as a rock.

 

“I… believe I can make an exception this time, and so can Poppy.” The lady said. She sighed. “Very back room.”

 

“Thank you.” Tristana said. Her and Rumble turned to walk away, leading themselves down a small corridor on the side of the offices. She turned to Rumble.

 

“I didn’t know you could be so assertive.” Tristana said.

 

“Anything for you to get what you want.” Rumble said with a sly smile. “Sometimes a little intimidation gets the job done.” He said, making himself and Tristana laugh. The back wall of the offices looked the exact same as the rest, not making anything new. The only thing different was that there was a singular door that they were standing in front of, on the side was a metal signed, engraved in it was the words “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.”

 

“I’ve actually never seen this room before.” Tristana said in slight wonderment.

 

“Me neither, shows how much we’ve explored this place.” Rumble said. With that Tristana didn’t hesitate as she opened the door and both her and Rumble walked inside. What she saw, as the door closed behind her, made both her and Rumble’s jaw drop.

 

In was like an aurora borealis but all blue. Wisps of entangled entities of blue light hung in the air like transparent blue string. The dark wood grained walls were replaced in color by the blue being illuminated on the walls. There was an odd object in the middle of the room. A large rock pedestal, on which on top was a large, floating blue gem. It floated tip up, obviously infused with magical powers unknown to Tristana and Rumble. It’s essence filled the room, a mysterious yet almost comforting presence coming from the gem. But as they were contemplating this they heard footsteps circle around the object. Looking to the side of the pedestal they saw Poppy, also and strangely emitting the same blue essence from her hands, trailing all the way up to the center of the gem.

 

“Oh.” Poppy said, surprised of their presence. “You were allowed in here?” She asked, maintaining her position of her hands raised towards the object.

 

“Yeah…” Tristana said in wonderment. “What… What is this?” Tristana asked. She looked over at Rumble once who was still speechless.

 

“Well this is supposed to be a top secret area… but since you know now anyway no point in not telling you.” She said. Clenching her hands she broke the tie of the blue essence, making the large gem in front of them lower until it stood perfectly on the pedestal. The blue essence in the air disappeared as the gem became attached to the pedestal. Unexpectedly, the gem extended outwards a little. Along the gem, little faint red dots appeared, along with a miniature holographic map in front of her. Poppy lowered her hands to her side, regaining her composure lost from controlling the object.

 

“Now I’m sure that you’re absolutely dumbfounded right now.” Poppy said.

 

“Of course!” Rumble exclaimed. Poppy laughed a little.

 

“Now… I must introduce you to the latest piece of Piltover technology!” She said, exclaiming her hands towards the gem! “They call it a nexus obelisk.”

 

“Nexus obelisk?” Tristana said, walking up closer to the object and particularly the hologram it projected. Looking at it closer, it represented a map of the entirety of Valoran, however the red dots were mainly centered around Bandle City.

 

“I piece of technology created by the wonderful scientist over in Piltover. Amazing the stuff they can do.” Poppy exclaimed. “Five copies of this exist now, one handed over to us, Demacia, Freljord, Ionia, and one kept for Piltover themselves. None was handed over to Noxus, and for good reason.” She said, walking up next to Tristana, looking down on the map with her. “And somehow they manage to incorporate their own technology into magical objects. Always surprised me.”

 

“What’s this supposed to mean?” Tristana asked, looking down at the map in amazement.

 

“It’s a holographic map of Valoran. This Nexus obelisk was specifically designed with a unique feature to trace every Bandle City soldier, which are the red dots. All of them are programmed into the system, allowing us to trace which ones are in danger and which one’s aren’t. Using the obelisks magical capabilities, we are able to recall them back to here whenever they are in a fatal situation.” Poppy explained. Tristana looked up at her with still a shocked expression.

 

“Don’t you think that’s a little creepy, this device being able to track every single one of us?” Tristana asked.

 

“Not everyone in Bandle City, only those appointed as soldiers. Also we can’t track what you’re doing, only where you are.” Poppy said. Just then something odd happened on the map. A red dot, one much farther away on the map started blinking. “And that’s the sign of when someone is in fatal danger, the red dot of which their assigned starts blinking.” Poppy explained. With her hand she zoomed in on the dot, which for some odd reason was farther away from the others. After a few zooms the scenery became more and more realistic. The person was enveloped on a path, standing clearly in the middle of it. No other Bandle City soldiers were around him, meaning he was the only yordle soldier there. Eventually the map zoomed in fully, which allowed the yordle’s name appear where the red dot was. However… this was unexpected. Tristana, Rumble, and Poppy were horrified at what the name was.

 

“Oh my.” Poppy said under her breath.

 

It was Teemo.

 


End file.
